President Chen Shui-bian said that the second Hu-Lien talks are another "fig leaf" to cover up China's fictitious peace maneuver.
The president made the above statement when meeting with a delegation of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) at the Office of the President on April 14. The delegation members included NCAFP President George D. Schwab, former US Ambassador to China Winston Lord, Professors Nicholas Platt, Donald S. Zagoria, and Gerald L. Curtis.
Immediately after China's passage of the Anti-Separation Law in March 2005, former Kuomintang Chairman Lien Chan met with Chinese President Hu Jintao for the first time to ease international opposition to the law. President Chen said that China is applying the same strategy by arranging a meeting with Lien just before President Hu is scheduled to meet with US President Bush. "The Chinese leaders are attempting to disguise their crafty character in order to allay the pressure from the US in pushing China to negotiate with my administration," the president told his American guests.
Any cross-strait exchanges conducted by the civil sector cannot represent Taiwan's government, the president firmly told his guests.
The president then reiterated that sovereignty, democracy, peace and equality are the four supreme principles guiding Taiwan's management of its relations with China. The president then added that Taiwan's economy cannot be completely dependent on the Chinese market.
Taiwan's Vice Foreign Minister Chang Siao-yueh accompanied the US delegation to the Office of the President.