China on Monday softened its conditions for talks with rival Taiwan, saying the island does not have to recognize Beijing as the central government before entering into political negotiations.
"We do not think that cross-straits negotiations require Taiwan to first recognise the People's Republic of China central government," Tang Shubei, China's chief negotiator with Taiwan, told a news conference.But Beijing made no change in its insistence that Taiwan accept the principle that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of it.
"As long as it promises to accept the facts of `One China,' `Taiwan is a part of China,' then our negotiations on `One China' are solved," Tang said.
"During routine negotiations . . . there is no need to discuss the political contents of `One China,' " Tang said.
A Taiwanese official said Monday the Nationalist island was willing to reopen negotiations with the Communist mainland as long as there were no preconditions.
"We are ready to resume dialogues. But we want to reiterate that such talks must be held with no preconditions," said Chang King-yuh, head of Taiwan's top mainland policy planning body.
Last week, Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman Shen Guofang said: "One China is not a precondition because it is a fact recognized by both sides of the (Taiwan) Strait. Both China and Taiwan . . . must recognize that there is one China."
Beijing suspended semi-official talks with Taipei in mid-1995 after Taiwan's President Lee Teng-hui made a private but high-profile visit to the United States to try to break the island out of diplomatic isolation imposed by China.
Tang urged Taiwan to agree to hold procedural talks formally to end the 5-decade-old state of hostility between the two sides.
"What we hope the Taiwan side can advocate to the mainland side is a clear expression on political negotiations towards the formal end to the state of hostility," Tang said.
Beijing and Taipei have been rivals since the Communists won the Chinese civil war and drove the defeated Nationalists into exile in 1949.
In a separate statement, Chinese Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Qian Qichen appeared to woo Taiwan's opposition which made significant gains in local elections last year.