Chen communication plan stirs thaw hopes

A meeting in Beijing on Friday between Lien Chan, the chairman of the opposition Nationalist Party, and President Hu Jintao of China has led to a rapid series of moves by Taiwanese politicians, including Chen, to grab the opportunity to ease tensions that have persisted ever since the end of China8217;s civil war in 1949.

While Chen has previously spoken of a general need for 8216;8216;confidence building8217;8217; military measures, his proposal on Monday was more specific.

It also represented his first initiative since a chill in relations across the Taiwan Strait that followed Chinese approval of an anti-secession law in March calling for the use of 8216;8216;non-peaceful means8217;8217; to block any declaration of independence here.

In remarks to reporters on Monday during a state visit to the Marshall Islands, Chen called for the creation of 8216;8216;a military and security consultation mechanism as soon as possible,8217;8217; according to the state-owned Central News Agency here.

Chen also repeated in stronger terms than usual his desire for a peaceful relationship with China someday 8212; provided that China accepts Taiwan as an equal, something the Beijing authorities have vowed never to do.

8216;8216;The door to a cross-strait dialogue and negotiation is always open based on the principles of democracy, peace and an equal footing,8217;8217; he said.

On Sunday, Chen said that he had asked James Soong, the chairman of the small People First Party, to convey a message to China8217;s leaders when Soong travels to the mainland on Thursday for a weeklong trip. Using Soong as an envoy amounts to the most direct contact between Taiwan and China since Chen8217;s election five years ago.

The president said that the message was based on a 10-point consensus that he had reached Feb. 24 with Soong on cross-strait relations and other issues.

The president8217;s remarks on Monday suggest that the message includes a request for cross-strait military coordination.

The details of Chen8217;s message are being kept so secret that even the Taiwan Cabinet official in charge of relations with mainland China, Joseph Wu, the chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, has not been told.