TAIPEI: Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou yesterday called upon political parties to take a role in the formulation of cross-Straits policies.
Ma made the call on the eve of the 5th Cross Straits Economic, Trade and Cultural Forum, to be held in Changsha on Saturday and Sunday.
Taiwan will send a 270-strong delegation, which includes not only representatives from the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), but also representatives from other political parties.
These include the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the New Party, the People First Party, and the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union.
Speaking at a meeting of delegation members, Ma said that it is a positive sign that the DPP and other political parties are sending representatives to the forum. The delegation is to leave for the mainland today.
He stressed that mainland policies would be more effective and representative if other political parties play a role in helping to formulate policy.
"A mainland policy that is based only on opinions of the KMT without contribution from other political parties will not be an effective one because of lack of representation. KMT must bear that in mind and be humble and inclusive," he said.
Ma also corrected what he termed a common misconception that the forum involves only KMT and the Communist Party of China.
"This forum has been mistakenly called 'KMT-CPC forum' all along," Ma said. "The fact is, it is co-organized by the two parties, but is actually called 'the Cross-Straits Economic, Trade and Cultural Forum'. From now on, we could simply call it the 'Cross-Straits forum' since participants are not limited to those from the two parties."
Also speaking at the meeting, Wu Poh-hsiung, KMT chairman, pointed out that among the more than 200 members of the delegation, less than one quarter of them belong to KMT.
He made it clear that although the event is organized by KMT, the party holds an open attitude and welcomes everybody to join in.
"No matter who will take charge in future, the forum will continue", he said.
Ma pointed out that exchanges between the ruling parties on both sides of the Straits are absolutely necessary, but such exchanges do not have to be limited to ruling parties. He noted KMT has a membership of over one million, which is a very small proportion of Taiwan's population.
He said he never believed that the ruling party should decide everything.
Other members of the delegation come from the cultural and creative industries, the news industry, education and trade sectors. There also are student representatives.
The three cultural subjects on the table at the forum are cultural inheritance and innovation, promotion of cooperation in cultural industry, and intensifying education and cultural exchanges across the Straits.
The theme of culture and education has not been touched upon in the nine agreements signed since Taiwan and the mainland resumed regular talks more than a year ago.
The cultural sector in Taiwan believes that since people on both sides of the Straits have the same ethnicity and share the same language, cultural exchanges should be a priority. That makes it most appropriate that adoption of greater cultural exchange will be the primary focus of discussion at the forum, Ma explained.
One of the topics put on the table by Ma was that people on the mainland and in Taiwan should learn traditional Chinese characters but be free to use the simplified version in writing.
