It will seriously harm cross-Straits relations if the proposed
draft of the "second republic constitution" is adopted by the
Democratic Progressive Party and submitted to the "Legislative
Yuan" for deliberation, a Chinese mainland scholar said on
Saturday.
"That amounts to taking a concrete step towards seeking 'de jure
Taiwan independence,'" said Yu Keli, director of the Institute of
Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Taiwan University Professor Chen Ming-tong and other scholars
made public a proposed draft of the "second republic constitution"
on March 18.
In an interview with Xinhua, Yu said the proposed draft includes
the proposition of "one country on each side", which in essence is
seeking "de jure Taiwan independence".
In addition, it advocates determining cross-Straits political
relations through a "referendum". It also explicitly calls the
"second republic constitution" a "Constitution of Taiwan".
Yu said the proposed draft is a downright "Taiwan independence"
scheme that aims to change the status quo that both the mainland
and Taiwan belong to one China.
Huang Jiashu, professor of the Beijing-based Renmin University
of China, told Xinhua that the proposed draft is more deceptive
compared with former straightforward versions of "Taiwan
independence" attempts.
The proposed draft states that "jurisdiction of the state is
only confined to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and affiliated
islands" and "territorial air space, territorial waters and
adjoining waters conforming with stipulations of international
law".
It also puts the People's Republic of China alongside the
"Republic of China", which in essence defines cross-Strait
relations as "one country on each side".
Huang said the "second republic constitution" is one of the
approaches to "pushing 'Taiwan independence' through constitutional
reform" proposed by Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian a long time ago.
The proposed draft of "second republic constitution" is an attempt
to repeat the trick of making the "National Unification Council"
cease functioning and "cease to apply" the "National Unification
Guidelines".
He urged the Taiwan society and the international community to
keep high vigilance against this trick.
Yu Keli said the activities of "de jure Taiwan independence"
will not only directly impair the interests of Taiwan compatriots,
but also seriously threaten peace and stability across the Taiwan
Straits and even the whole Asia-Pacific region.
(Xinhua News Agency March 25, 2007)