Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian called for the establishment of a military mutual-trust mechanism Friday so as to avoid misunderstandings and misjudgment on both sides.
Chen made the call while meeting a group of foreign scholars who were taking part in a one-day forum titled "Taiwan Security in the Year 2000: Retrospect and Prospects," which was sponsored by the Taiwan Research Institute.
Chen said that peace in the Taiwan Strait is the pillar of security for the Asian-Pacific region and therefore in the interests of the United States.
The President stressed that ever since his inauguration on May 20, he has done his best to improve cross-strait relations.
By exercising self-restraint and not provoking or challenging mainland China, he has successfully prevented the cross-trait ties from deteriorating, he said.
Chen added that his next step will be to begin handling the cross-strait ties in accordance with the consensus of the "three understandings and four suggestions"--the conclusion reached recently by the Presidential Advisory Group on Cross-strait Relations.
Chen noted that the body's consensus includes that any change to Taiwan's status quo must be agreed upon by the people of Taiwan in accordance with democratic procedures, and that an official response to mainland China's "one China" principle should be determined in line with the Republic of China Constitution. The president emphasized that Taiwan-mainland relations should not be characterized by "one side trying to destroy the other," but rather by both sides coming up with a "win-win" situation.
In answering questions raised by the visitors, Chen said that the leaders of both Taiwan and the mainland should sit down now and jointly seek to come up with a mutually-acceptable definition of "one China."
He also urged the United States to play a more active role in promoting peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Forum participants included Dr. Desmond J. Ball, professor of Strategic and Defense Studies Centre at National Australian University; professor Michael B. Yahuda, convenor of the International Relations Department at The London School of Economics and Political Science; and Dr. Hidenori Ijiri, professor at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.