It will seriously harm cross-Straits relations if the proposed draft of the "second republic constitution" is adopted by the Democratic Progressive Party and submitted to the "Legislative Yuan" for deliberation, a Chinese mainland scholar said on Saturday.

 

"That amounts to taking a concrete step towards seeking 'de jure Taiwan independence,'" said Yu Keli, director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

 

Taiwan University Professor Chen Ming-tong and other scholars made public a proposed draft of the "second republic constitution" on March 18.

 

In an interview with Xinhua, Yu said the proposed draft includes the proposition of "one country on each side", which in essence is seeking "de jure Taiwan independence".

 

In addition, it advocates determining cross-Straits political relations through a "referendum". It also explicitly calls the "second republic constitution" a "Constitution of Taiwan".

 

Yu said the proposed draft is a downright "Taiwan independence" scheme that aims to change the status quo that both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China.

 

Huang Jiashu, professor of the Beijing-based Renmin University of China, told Xinhua that the proposed draft is more deceptive compared with former straightforward versions of "Taiwan independence" attempts.

 

The proposed draft states that "jurisdiction of the state is only confined to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and affiliated islands" and "territorial air space, territorial waters and adjoining waters conforming with stipulations of international law".

 

It also puts the People's Republic of China alongside the "Republic of China", which in essence defines cross-Strait relations as "one country on each side".

 

Huang said the "second republic constitution" is one of the approaches to "pushing 'Taiwan independence' through constitutional reform" proposed by Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian a long time ago. The proposed draft of "second republic constitution" is an attempt to repeat the trick of making the "National Unification Council" cease functioning and "cease to apply" the "National Unification Guidelines".

 

He urged the Taiwan society and the international community to keep high vigilance against this trick.

 

Yu Keli said the activities of "de jure Taiwan independence" will not only directly impair the interests of Taiwan compatriots, but also seriously threaten peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and even the whole Asia-Pacific region.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 25, 2007)