DPP should update cross-strait policy: Hsu

Tsai ran a great campaign that faltered only in the last mile — that is, when it came to cross-strait policy, said Hsu.

Before she steps down as chairwoman on March 1, the DPP should turn her take on bilateral relations into an official resolution, to be ratified by the central executive committee or by the party congress.

Need Apparent: Hsu

The entire party knows that Tsai lost the election over the cross-strait issue, Hsu said.

“The reason the DPP lost by nearly 800,000 votes in the election is because the public still has misgivings about the party's cross-strait policy,” he said.

But Tsai's more moderate views did win over more than 6 million voters, he continued, saying that Tsai's cross-strait policy is a far cry from the DPP's classic formulation.

“The Republic of China is Taiwan, and Taiwan is the Republic of China” is one example of Tsai's revision.

The DPP cannot retrace its footsteps, and can only make revisions going forward. Before Tsai passes the baton on March 1, the DPP should ratify the resolution.

Bilateral relations form the base of Taiwan's economy — the two issues are not easy to untwine, he said.

The party's resolution from 1999 declares Taiwan a sovereign, independent state, and that this status quo may not be changed without a plebiscite.

Lin Chou-shui Calls Change Unnecessary

Revising the party platform is not yet necessary, said Lin Chou-shui (林濁水), a former DPP legislator who is one of the party's platform drafters.

It is right to uphold the nation's sovereignty, he said.

During the presidential campaign, the DPP conducted a relatively successful offensive against President Ma Ying-jeou's proposed peace pact with mainland China. That shows that the Taiwan people do stand behind the DPP's stance on national sovereignty, said Lin.

He continued, saying that cross-strait trade policy and the “1992 Consensus” are not necessarily related. Even without the consensus, the DPP can still promote the “Little Three Links” (小三通).

But he is not opposed to the party taking up cross-strait policy for discussion, he said.

DPP Imprecise, Inconsistent on ECFA: Lin

The DPP must review its own performance over the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), said Lin.

The DPP has not behaved consistently toward ECFA, seeming unable to decide whether it should be radical, moderate, or compliant with KMT claims.

Lin continued, the party's lack of precision and consistency toward ECFA created public confusion and distrust of the DPP.

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