Taiwan's pro- "independence" leader Chen Shui-bian yesterday rejected an opposition call for a resumption of talks with the Chinese mainland based on the "1992 consensus" on the one-China principle.

Local journalists watch and photograph a closed circuit television as Taiwan's "president Chen" Shui-bian (R) greets main opposition Nationalist Party leader Ma Ying-jeou at the "Presidential Office" in Taipei April 3, 2006.  [Reuters]

During his two-hour meeting with opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou in Taipei, Chen did little to conceal his determination to pursue "independence" for the island.

"It would be problematic to regard this (the 1992 consensus), which does not exist at all, as the basis of talks," Chen said, adding that he would do nothing to compromise Taiwan's "sovereignty."

"There should not be the one-China principle."

The "1992 consensus" refers to an informal agreement, reached orally between Taiwan and the mainland, that both sides should adhere to the one-China principle, which holds that both Taiwan and the mainland belong to one and the same China.

But Chen and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have denied the existence of the consensus since he took power in May 2000.

The meeting between Chen and Ma, broadcast live on local news channels, was their first since Ma became the KMT chairman last year.

But their lengthy discussion brought about little agreement between the two leaders on a wide range of issues, including cross-Straits ties, arms purchases and "constitutional" change.

During the meeting, Ma expressed his hope that Taiwan be a peace-maker rather than a troublemaker in the Asia-Pacific region.

He said there should be reconciliation and co-operation across the Taiwan Straits.

Chen, however, poured cold water on Ma's idea of signing a peace treaty that would ensure peace in the Taiwan Straits for 30 to 50 years.

He also reiterated his determination to forge ahead with the so-called "constitutional re-engineering" project to write a new "constitution" for the island in 2006 and enact the document in 2008.

Ma, seen by many as a "presidential" front-runner in 2008, questioned Chen's wisdom of scrapping the island's "national unification council" and its guidelines on eventual reunification with the mainland.

Beijing has described Chen's move as a dangerous step towards "Taiwan independence."

Ma had requested the meeting with Chen after returning from a high-profile trip to the United States last month.

In an unusually warm reception, he met US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, the highest level contact between Taiwan and the United States in years.

The United States was angered by Chen's decision last month to disband the council, a move interpreted by Washington as an unnecessary provocation of Beijing.

(China Daily 04/04/2006 page1)