Thursday, December 06, 2012

Hsieh OK with not being DPP’s China head

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) reiterated yesterday that he did not hold a grudge against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) for not appointing him to head the party’s China Affairs Committee (CAC).

At a question-and-answer session after giving a speech to about 200 students at Shih Hsin University, the former premier said that although he and Su had different visions for the committee — Hsieh thinks it should be a decisionmaking body for the DPP’s China policy and Su thinks it should serve as a communication platform — “I agreed with [Su’s] decision of doubling as the CAC convener because it would be less controversial.”

“I like having someone who executes policies and make things happen in charge of the CAC even if I have to carry out someone else’s policy and initiatives,” Hsieh added.

In his 40-minute speech, Hsieh spoke about his initiative of “constitutions with different interpretations” (憲法各表), which has caused heated debate within the DPP and drawn criticism from independence supporters, and his views on closer cross-strait engagement.

Among the audience were dozens of Chinese students at the university who asked Hsieh questions.

Asked about Taiwan’s “three limits, six noes” policy (三限六不) on Chinese students, Hsieh said Chinese students should be allowed to be employed part-time in jobs related to academia and school administration.

The policy limits the number of Chinese students to 0.1 percent of total domestic student recruitment and bars them from taking courses in pharmaceuticals, Chinese and Western medicine, advanced technology or national security.

The “six noes” stipulate that Chinese students’ entrance exams will not be treated preferentially, they will receive no scholarships or affect Taiwanese enrollment, are ineligible for part-time jobs and cannot participate in licensing examinations or stay in Taiwan after graduation.

Hsieh also called on Beijing to extend more goodwill to Taiwanese.

“The US and Australia do not point guns at those who want to become US or Australian citizens. If Beijing wants Taiwanese to become Chinese, it should follow the US’ and Australia’s example,” Hsieh said.