A Taiwanese technology tycoon has called for a 'peaceful coexistence' bill to resolve the cross-strait dispute and end political bickering on the island.
The proposal by Robert Tsao Hsing-cheng founder of United Microelectronics Corp, the world's second-largest contract chipmaker, reflects local businessmen's anxiety over the failure of the island to adopt a more liberal mainland policy for economic and political exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, analysts said.
In a half-page advert in major Taiwanese newspapers yesterday, Mr Tsao said there was a need for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh Chang-ting and his opposition Kuomintang opponent Ma Ying-jeou to jointly propose such a bill.
'If the two presidential candidates can jointly raise the bill, it could then become the consensus of both camps, thus helping to avert attack and distortion during the process of drafting the bill,' he said.
According to Mr Tsao's proposal, the pan-blue camp led by the KMT, the pan-green camp led by DPP, and the mainland all support peace between the two sides. To make peace possible, the KMT and the DPP should institute a 'peaceful coexistence' bill, he said.
He said the main points of the bill should include suspension of any plan to hold a referendum on Taiwan independence.
Taiwan should also announce that it would not reject a proposal or unification, but a public vote should be held to decide this issue.
