Taiwan's Ma extends hand to China

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TAIPEI, Mar 23 (AFP): Taiwan's president-elect Ma Ying-jeou extended his hand Sunday to big neighbour China, vowing to help pave the way for a century of mutual peace and prosperity in the region.
Buoyed by a landslide election victory Saturday, Ma said he wanted a "non-denial" agreement that would allow Taiwan and China -- which claims sovereignty over the island -- to exist side by side.
He promised to work for warmer relations, pressing for closer trade ties, direct air and tourism links and a peace treaty that would end decades of hostilities since Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949.
Ma appealed for public trust and urged voters to re-elect him four years from now, saying: "If you give me eight years, I will lay the foundation for a century of peace and prosperity."
The Harvard-educated opposition Kuomintang candidate won 58 percent of the vote Saturday, trouncing his ruling party challenger Frank Hsieh by almost 17 points and earning the congratulations of US President George W Bush.
Ma said he backed a 1992 consensus between Beijing and Taipei, under which both accepted the formula of "One China" but agreed to interpret it in their own way.
He said the old policy of each side denying the other's right to exist was in the past, but that mutual recognition was also "out of the question."
Mutual non-denial was the middle road, Ma said.
"We will not deny their existence but we cannot recognise their sovereignty" over Taiwan, he said.
China has threatened an invasion if the US-allied island declares independence.
By returning to the 1992 consensus, Ma said, "We can move ahead to other urgent, less intractable issues."
"We want to make sure we are not negotiating Taiwan's future... Taiwan's identity has to be respected. We will negotiate with each other on an equal footing."