(IPS) feature

Putting on a brave face to meet recent political shifts in Taiwan, the island republic over which it claims sovereignty, China has extended its first olive branch toward the pro-independence ruling party of President Chen Shuibian.

In a high-profile speech this week delivered by China's most senior foreign policy official, Beijing said it was ready to deal with Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and invited its members to visit the mainland.

Vice-Premier Qian Qichen said Beijing has realised that most of the DPP members were not ''separatists'' — a sea change in China's publicly stated views before of Chen's political party, which still has independence from mainland China in its goals.

''We believe there is a distinction between the vast majority of DPP members and a very small number of stubborn Taiwan independence activists,'' Qian said. ''We invite them to tour and visit in an appropriate status to promote understanding.''

He was speaking at a seminar held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to commemorate the anniversary of a keynote speech on Taiwan policy made by President Jiang Zemin in January 1995.

The overture appears to be a part of overall softening in Beijing policy toward Taiwan as the mainland's communist leaders come to grips with the reality that the DPP, a party they used to shun, has become not only the ruling authority but also the largest party in Taiwan's Parliament.

Vowed to achieve reunification

China regards Taiwan as a rebel province and has vowed to achieve reunification with the island. The Chinese leadership is deeply suspicious that the ultimate goal of Chen Shuibian and his party is to declare formal independence for Taiwan.

When Chen was elected president in March 2000, the first opposition candidate to become a president in Taiwan's history, Beijing regarded him as a transitional phenomenon and refused to have contacts with his political party.

Instead, Beijing embarked on a campaign courting members of Chen's rivalNationalist party (the Kuomintang), which ruled the island for more than 50 years and favours reunification with the mainland. Beijing insisted that biding its time would reverse the political tides in Taiwan.

To the surprise of many, December parliamentary elections delivered a landslide victory for the DPP and boosted President Chen's chances of being re-elected in 2004. Although Beijing tried to downplay the importance of the DPP's legislative victory, a new tone of tolerance began to emerge into official rhetoric toward Taiwan.

''The situation of Taiwan island has seen changes that merit attention,'' Vice-Premier Qian said euphemistically in his speech quoted by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

Seek international support

Indeed, observers note that a spate of recent Taiwanese moves to seek more international support for its cause have been met with only a subdued criticism by Beijing.

''They say the same things as before, but the venom seems to have gone,'' said one Asian diplomat in Beijing.

Although Beijing issued its usual protests when the United States granted transit visas to President Chen and Vice-President Annette Lu in recent months, the official reaction was far from the barrage of threats that met Taiwan's former president Lee Tenghui's visit to America in 1996.

In the eyes of Beijing, granting Taiwanese leaders visas to visit the United States inches toward formal US recognition for the government of Taiwan. Five years ago, Lee Tenghui's tour of his alma mater, Cornell University, was met with a torrent of indignation nearly triggered a cross-straits war.

Nothing alike happened this time, although President Chen Shuibian was warmly received in New York in May and met with then-mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

5 Observers are also puzzled by the fact that a recent decision by Taipei to add the words ''issued in Taiwan'' to its Republic of China passports did not provoke more angry responses from Beijing.

Change for convenience

Taiwan's official title is the 'Republic of China', while China is formally known as the 'People's Republic of China'. Earlier this month,officials in Taipei said the planned change was merely out of convenience, aimed to avoid confusing foreign customs. It would not involve the changing the island's official name, they added.

Nevertheless, Beijing branded the move a push for the ''gradual independence of Taiwan''. A spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council warned earlier this month that any form of Taiwan's ''independence'' would not be tolerated.

But belligerent rhetoric disappeared quickly from the state-run media, pushed aside by articles discussing a surge in trade between Taiwan and the mainland.

In the wake of Taiwan and China's simultaneous entry into the World Trade Organisation last year, the People's Daily newspaper ran a commentary recently talking up ''the dramatically increased business opportunities'' for the two sides.

Taiwan has already invested US$29 billion in the mainland. Bilateral trade was up 4.6 percent in the first 10 months of last year, totalling US$26 billion.

Economically integrated

As the island and mainland become more and more economically integrated, Beijing realises the need for a change in its stringent policy toward Chen's Democratic Party.

The bone of contention between Beijing and Taipei continues to be the sensitive issue of the 'one-China principle'. Beijing insists that Taipei recognise there is only one China before the two sides could re-open any cross-strait talks.

But in a sign that Beijing is angling for a new round of talks, for the first time last Thursday Qian Qichen invited a dialogue with Taiwan about establishing a ''mechanism for cross-strait economic cooperation'' and other ways to improve economic ties.

''It is hoped that leaders of Taiwan authorities will not misjudge the situation and miss this good chance,'' the People's Daily said in an editorial last Friday.