Taipei, Aug. 3 (CNA) ROC President Lee Teng-hui said on Tuesday that continued ambiguity in the status of relations across the Taiwan Strait will be detrimental to the Republic of China's development in the long run.
Lee made the remarks while meeting with a group of Canadian lawmakers who expressed their concern about the recent state of cross-strait relations.
From historical and legal points of view, Lee said the co-existence of the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China in the international community is an undeniable fact.
"This was why I defined cross-strait ties as 'at least a special state-to-state relationship' when Germany's Deutsche Welle radio station asked me in an interview in early July about my opinion concerning Beijing's claim that Taiwan is a renegade province of the PRC," Lee explained.
The president said since he assumed the presidency, he has earnestly hoped that the two sides can engage in peaceful exchanges instead of military confrontation.
In a show of goodwill, Lee said, the ROC government has adopted a series of policy adjustments, including terminating the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion, promoting dialogue and expanding exchanges.
"Mainland China, however, has responded to Taiwan's goodwill with hostility," Lee regretted, adding that mainland China is even unwilling to work with Taiwan to resolve certain pressing issues related to rights and interests of people on both sides of the strait, such as smuggling of humans and contraband goods.
While some people claim that the so-called "one China" policy provides "creative ambiguity" and has facilitated the development of cross-strait relations.
However, Lee said mainland China has asserted in the world arena that the "one China" refers to the PRC and that the ROC on Taiwan is a province of the PRC.
"Beijing's hegemonic 'one China' principle has seriously squeezed our international space and made our development in the world community increasingly difficult," Lee said, adding that communist China's hegemonic attitude has not only threatened the ROC's survival but also endangered peace and stability in the entire Asia-Pacific region.
Lee stressed that if the status of cross-strait ties remains ambiguous, Taiwan's development will be adversely affected as Beijing has consistently regarded itself as the central government and downgraded the ROC as a local-level government.
The president said he is afraid if the two sides cannot conduct dialogue on a basis of parity, cross-strait talks will lead to nowhere.
Lee further told his guests that since constitutional amendments in 1991, the ROC's jurisdiction is limited to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu. Moreover, the ROC has since recognized the PRC's jurisdiction over the Chinese mainland. This is a pragmatic reflection of the reality.
The president also reiterated that the ROC's policy of pursuing China's eventual unification under freedom, democracy and prosperity has remained unchanged.
Canadian lawmakers present at the meeting included Paul Szado, Rose-Marie Ur, Raymond Bonin, Paul Froseth and Jocelyne Girard-Bujold.
Szado said the ROC's achievements in political and economic fields have won worldwide recognition. "We believe that Taiwan provides a good model for mainland China's future development," he added.
In addition to cross-strait ties, Lee and Canadian lawmakers also exchanged views on ways to further boost ROC-Canadian trade, economic and cultural exchanges.