Beijing's strategy against Taiwan

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President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is not making much headway in interesting China in holding talks with Taiwan. His call for a code of conduct to prevent an outbreak of conflict in the Taiwan Strait doesn't interest China either. It has dismissed his peace call as "too insincere and vague to be treated seriously."

Chen recently suggested -- on the 93rd anniversary of the founding of the Chinese republic in 1911 -- the reopening of talks between the two sides akin to the 1992 meeting of officials in Hong Kong.

Beijing apparently sees a plot in this and other peace initiatives, designed to legitimize Taiwan's separate and sovereign existence. China is also not keen to further legitimize Chen's popular credentials as Taiwan's democratically elected president. In other words, Beijing doesn't want talks without a prior recognition of Taiwan's status as part of China. In that case, there is nothing left for Taipei to talk about except its terms of surrender.

But Chen keeps trying. He has once again reiterated his country's desire to establish peaceful political relations with China "in any form whatsoever." Elaborating, he said, "We would not exclude any possibility , so long as it has the consent of the 23 million people of Taiwan."

Taipei Times