Foreign policy debated as Ma, Hsieh square off

The consensus of 1992 was a main focus of the two-hour debate concerning relations between the two sides of the strait. Under the tacit agreement reached in 1992, both Taipei and Beijing acknowledged there is only one China, albeit its connotation can be individually and orally expressed.

Without that modus vivendi, there would have been no meetings between C.F. Koo, chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation, and his Chinese counterpart Wang Daohan in Singapore and Beijing to sign agreements to settle outstanding “technical” issues across the strait.

Ma accused President Chen Shui-bian of refusing to accept the consensus of 1992, a sine qua non for dialogue between Taipei and Beijing.

“Why are we afraid of admitting that there is one China, which you can declare is the Republic of China?” Ma asked Hsieh, whose ruling party had a resolution added to its charter proclaiming Taiwan as an independent state, whose national title currently is the Republic of China.

Starting dialogue does not necessarily mean there is going to be an successful result, Ma said. “It’s going to be very difficult,” he continued, admitting: “We are unlikely to see the problem settled in our lifetimes.”

Should he be elected, Ma said, Taiwan would do everything within its power to maintain the status quo. He promised “no unification (with China),” “no independence (for Taiwan),” and “no use of force (across the strait).”

Hsieh agreed to begin dialogue across the strait. “But,” he said, “we should never sacrifice our sovereignty.” Ma’s plan to talk, he added, is likely to see Taiwan absorbed into “the one China of the People’s Republic.”

In particular, Hsieh declared an end to the era of Chen Shui-bian and called for reconciliation. Chen will step down as president on May 20.

“This will end the Chen Shui-bian era,” Hsieh said, adding: “There should be no more pro-Bian nor anti-Bian struggle.” Ah-Bian, which is abbreviated Bian, is the name the president prefers to call himself.

However, Hsieh did not forget to point out an “eye-for-an-eye struggle” would continue, if Ma were elected.

Polls have shown Ma enjoying a large lead over Hsieh, who turned the TV debate into an arena for a counterattack.

Hsieh’s attack on the Kuomintang’s common market platform, however, is fast narrowing the gap. According to a DPP poll, which was not published, Ma’s lead has been cut to a mere 7 percent.

Their running mates, Su Tseng-chang of the DPP and Vincent Siew of the Kuomintang, will meet face to face at a policy discussion tomorrow.

Su is expected to follow up Hsieh’s attack on the cross-strait common market to score a few more points for the DPP ticket.

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