Taipei, Feb. 22 (CNA) On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the enactment of the Guidelines for National Unification, President Chen Shui-bian said Thursday that any form of political integration between mainland and Taiwan should be subject to the Constitution.
Chen told a group of visiting European Union Parliament members that the mainland and Taiwan should seek permanent peace through political integration which, no matter whether it takes the form of a federation, a commonwealth or a model like that of the European Union, should be in conformity with the Constitution. The national sovereignty, safety and dignity enshrined in the Constitution should not be compromised by any form of political integration between the two sides, said Chen, who floated the idea of economic and political integration with mainland China in his new year message earlier this year.
He urged the Beijing regime to heed a resolution by the European Parliament last year which called for the resumption of dialogue between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits and the peaceful settlement of their differences. Noting that the formation of the Europe Union started with economic cooperation and ended in political integration, Chen said this process is worth following by mainland and Taiwan.
As to the questions of how to draw together the conflicting opinions among Taiwan's various political factions on the country's future direction, Chen said mixed views on any given issue are normal under a democracy, but added that the "normalization" of ties with Beijing is the common goal of all the factions and parties.
He expressed Taiwan's desire to improve ties with the EU and for more intensive exchanges between the two sides, saying that he looks forward the exchange of representative offices.
Chen also appealed to the European parliamentarians to help him obtain a Danish visa in November so that he can receive a freedom prize awarded by Liberal International, which is a grouping of liberal parties from around the world. He said it would be ironic if the recipient of the 2001 Prize of Freedom, would be stripped of the freedom to receive the honor because of pressure from Beijing.
The six European parliamentarians who visited Chen Thursday afternoon are Graham Watson of Britain, Jannis Sakellariou of Germany, Ward Beysen of Belgium, Ole Andreasen of Denmark, and three Dutch parliamentarians--Bob van den Bos, Marieke Sanders and Toine Manders.