| SHANGHAI - China's top envoy on Taiwan affairs, Wang Daohan, said on
Friday that Beijing and Taipei should settle their differences peacefully through
dialogue. But Taiwan must accept the ``one China'' principle as a precondition for
negotiations, local television reported.
Wang, chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, made the
remarks to a U.S. delegation visiting Shanghai that included Agriculture Secretary Dan
Glickman and four congressmen.
``We hope to use peaceful methods to resolve the Taiwan question,'' Wang was quoted by
Shanghai Television as saying.
``Under the precondition of the 'one China' principle, we can discuss any problem,'' he
said.
Relations between China and Taiwan have been tense since the island elected Chen
Shui-bian as president. Chen's Democratic Progressive Party espouses independence from
China, though Chen himself has soft-pedalled the issue.
China considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province and has threatened to use military
force if the island declared independence.
Senior Chinese envoy Tang Shubei said on Thursday ``disaster and confrontation'' were
in store if Taiwan rejected the ``one China'' principle, a formula that Chen had already
ruled out.
Members of the U.S. delegation said Wang agreed the differences should be settled
peacefully.
``He said that they want to have a dialogue and they want to try and work this thing
out peacefully, and there are efforts under way to negotiate with Taiwan,'' said
Washington Democratic Representative Norman Dicks. He gave no details of the moves.
``I came away with the feeling there may be room for the United States to help both
parties here get together and resolve this issue,'' Dicks told reporters. ``And I hope we
can do it in a peaceful fashion.''
The visit by the U.S. delegation comes shortly before a key congressional vote on
granting permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to China.
The vote is expected to be close because of strong opposition from human rights and
labour groups, who prefer the current system in which Congress reviews China's trade
status annually.
Glickman said the vote was ``too close to call'' but he thought Congress would approve
PNTR in the end.
``I believe, when push comes to shove, the consequences of failing to pass it are so
profound to the United States and to China in terms of both economic but more
significantly security implications, that I believe Congress will ultimately end up
passing it,'' he said.
The U.S. delegates were speaking after touring a historic cathedral and meeting
Catholic Bishop Jin Luxian, whom China jailed for 27 years because of his religious
beliefs.
Glickman said China had yet to reach the level of political and religious freedom in
the United States but had made dramatic progress over the past several years.
Glickman met Shanghai mayor Xu Kuangdi and visited the Shanghai stock exchange on
Friday before heading to Hong Kong. Reuters |
