By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The very nature of a specific constitution will be able to provide stability and continuity for Taiwan to seek domestic consensus and closer engagement with China, former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said yesterday in Washington.
Hsieh delivered a 60-minute briefing on his cross-strait initiative of “constitutions with different interpretations (憲法各表)” to US academics in the China Studies program at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, according to a press release issued by his office.
Judging from the responses he received during his visit to China in October last year, Hsieh said that he believed the initiative, which could also be interpreted as “two sides, two constitutions,” with Taiwan and China having a special relationship as stipulated by their respective constitutions, would be a “feasible policy option.”
The initiative has drawn mixed reviews from Hsieh’s own Democratic Progressive Party, with some accusing Hsieh of holding an overly pro-China position.
Hsieh underlined that a constitution is a “stable and institutionalized platform,” which would not be altered by a change of regime or national leader, which is why the constitutions across the Strait could be used as the basis of cross-strait engagement, the press release quoted Hsieh as saying.
The former premier left for the US last week and is expected to spend the rest of the week in Washington, where he is scheduled to visit the Brookings Institution and the Taiwanese-American community, Taiwan Reform Foundation spokesperson Lin He-ming (林鶴明) said.
Lin said Hsieh would continue on a private trip after leaving Washington and return to Taiwan at a later date.