Posted on: Tuesday, May 10, 2005

EDITORIAL
Politics aside, Taiwan, China talks offer hope

Although the historic meeting between a Taiwan opposition leader and Chinese President Hu Jintao was as much about domestic Taiwanese politics as anything else, it still represents a glimmer of hope that tensions across the Taiwan Straits might ease a bit.

It was clear that Taiwan Nationalist Party leader Lien Chan's visit to Beijing was designed to give his organization a boost and to pressure Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian and his pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.

Not to make too fine a point, the Chinese leadership followed up with another hearty backslapping meeting with James Soong, another pro-reunification opposition leader.

China's leadership, of course, is only too happy to help put the squeeze on Chen by shining a positive spotlight on his opposition. Whatever the immediate motivation, however, this did represent an occasion for high-level talks between (admittedly out-of-office) Taiwanese leaders and top Chinese leadership.

And Chen, perhaps to his own political danger, eventually offered positive words about the visits of his opponents and seemed to indicate a new willingness to negotiate matters with China.

In addition to the atmospherics, the visits also gave China an opportunity to make a charming goodwill gesture toward Taiwan in the form of two pandas, much as it did for the United States in 1972 after Richard Nixon's trip to China.

A communique from Lien and Hu hit many of the right notes after their meeting. They talked about increasing transparency and military trust between Taiwan and the mainland. And Hu said China would pursue ways to help Taiwan get into international groups such as the World Health Organization, an effort Taipei has long pursued and Beijing has so far opposed.

Still, these positive signs are balanced against the realities of the situation. Pandas, yes, but a spokesman for Hu sniffed that the president had no intention of accepting Chen's brash invitation to visit Taiwan, to see what a real Chinese democracy looks like.

And Chen's office was equally quick to point out that Lien's visit — at the end of the day — meant little since he was unable to win any statement recognizing Taiwan's sovereignty.

Still, even small positive steps away from the harsh rhetoric and escalating tensions that characterize so much of official cross-Straits relations should be applauded.