Taipei - Taiwan on Wednesday welcomed Chinese President Hu Jintao's offer to hold talks with Taipei on ending hostility, but the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) refused to talk with China under Beijing's terms. The ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang or KMT) said Hu had made concrete offers for promoting cross-strait peace, so the two sides must seize the opportunity to improve ties.
"Taiwan people must know that China will not change its stance on peaceful unification. Taiwan people, with their wisdom, should handle cross-strait ties well, and that will help maintain Taiwan's status quo," Chang Jung-kung, the KMT's deputy secretary-general, said.
The Defence Ministry welcomed Hu's call to set up a military mutual-trust mechanism, saying it would foster regional peace.
"Cross-strait peace is not only the wish of Taiwan people, but also the wish of the Asia-Pacific. We would like to see that happen and have made plans for it (launching a military mutual-trust mechanism)," Defence Ministry spokeswoman Chih Yu-lan told reporters.
Yin Nai-ping, a professor of finance from National Chengchih University, welcomed Hu's remark that China is willing to sign an economic cooperation pact with Taiwan to help boost the island's competitiveness.
"This is what we have been waiting for. It will not only help improve our economy, but will also allow Taiwan to join international economic organizations and play a larger role on the world stage, and help buffer the impact of the global financial crisis on Taiwan," he said.
Song Kuo-cheng, a researcher from Chengchih University's Institute of International Relations, said the most important part of Hu's speech was that China wants to establish a military mutual-trust mechanism with Taiwan.
"Launching the military mutual-trust mechanism implies it will replace China's threat of using force on Taiwan," he told the Broadcasting Corporation of China.
"Hu also agreed to let Taiwan join non-governmental international organizations. The first thing we will watch is if China will allow Taiwan to attend the World Health Assembly this year, and if Taipei and Beijing will hold talks on that in advance," he said.
On Wednesday morning, China held an event to mark the 30th anniversary of its "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan," which called for peace talks and the opening of sea, air and postal links, nicknamed the Three Links.
The three links were finally opened on December 15, but Taiwan is still refusing to reunify with China.
Hu said that under the "one-China" principle, Beijing is willing to discuss various issues with Taiwan to promote peace across the Taiwan Strait.
"The Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait have the responsibility for ending historical hostility, preventing their killing each other and letting their offspring create a good life in peace," Hu said.
"The two sides can hold practical consultations under the special condition that the country is not united yet," he said.
However, Hu also stressed that there is only one China and Beijing does not tolerate Taiwan independence or "one China, one Taiwan" in the world.
Among Hu's peace overtures, he said China and Taiwan had discussed launching a military mutual-trust mechanism and an economic cooperation mechanism with Taipei.
Beijing is also willing to allow Taiwan to join non-official and economic international organizations, he said.
Hu also made peace overtures to the pro-independence DPP party.
"If the DPP changes it stance on seeking Taiwan independence and splitting China, we are willing to make a positive response," he said.
The DPP responded by declaring that Taiwan is an independent country, and China must accept this first before Beijing-DPP talks are possible.
"Taiwan is an independent country ... and Taiwan's future must be decided by the 23 million Taiwanese. This is not only the DPP's claim, but also the consensus of the majority of Taiwanese," the DPP said in a statement.
"The biggest problem between Taiwan and China is not what the DPP advocates, but how Taiwanese feel about China ... There can be no harmonious developments between Taiwan and China so long as Beijing treats the Taiwan issue as China's internal issue and tries to turn Taiwan into another Hong Kong or Macau," it said.
"True dialogue (between China and the DPP) can only happen if China does not set pre-conditions," it said.
China and Taiwan split at the end of the civil war in 1949, when Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan to set up his government-in-exile.
Since his inauguration on May 20, President Ma Ying-jeou from the China-friendly KMT party has promoted cross-strait exchanges while asserting Taiwan is a sovereign country and its future must be decided by the Taiwan people.
