Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian yesterday rejected a call from the Kuomintang Party (KMT) for a resumption of talks with the mainland based on the "1992 consensus" on the one-China principle.

 

During his two-hour meeting with KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou in Taipei, Chen did little to conceal his determination to pursue independence for the island.

 

"It would be problematic to regard this (the "1992 consensus"), which does not exist at all, as the basis of talks," Chen said, adding that he would do nothing to compromise Taiwan's "sovereignty."

 

"There should not be the one-China principle."

 

The "1992 consensus" refers to an informal agreement, reached orally between Taiwan and the mainland that both sides should adhere to the one-China principle.

 

But Chen and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have denied the existence of the consensus ever since he took power in May 2000.

 

The meeting between Chen and Ma, broadcast live on local news channels, was their first since Ma became KMT chairman last year.

 

But their lengthy discussion brought about little agreement between the two on a wide range of issues, including cross-Straits ties, arms purchases and "constitutional" change.

 

During the meeting, Ma expressed his hope that Taiwan be a peacemaker rather than a troublemaker in the Asia-Pacific region.

 

He said there should be reconciliation and cooperation across the Taiwan Straits.

 

Chen, however, rejected Ma's idea of signing a peace treaty that would ensure peace in the Taiwan Straits for 30 to 50 years.

 

He also reiterated his determination to forge ahead with the "constitutional re-engineering" project to write a new "constitution" for the island in 2006 and enact it in 2008.

 

Ma, seen by many as a "presidential" front-runner in 2008, questioned Chen's wisdom for scrapping the island's "national unification council" and its guidelines on eventual reunification with the mainland.

 

Beijing has described Chen's move as a dangerous step toward "Taiwan independence."

 

Ma had requested the meeting with Chen after returning from a high-profile trip to the US last month.

 

In an unusually warm reception, he met with US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, the highest level contact between Taiwan and the US in years.

 

The US was reportedly angered by Chen's decision last month to disband the council, a move interpreted by Washington as an unnecessary provocation against Beijing.

 

(China Daily April 4, 2006)