The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) needs more time to complete a more in-depth understanding of China as the party has yet to decide for any explicit policy direction for the country, exiled Chinese dissident Wang Dan (王丹) said yesterday during an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA).
“DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and I had an exchange of opinions on various issues concerning Taiwan’s China policy and we are on the same page, particularly about how Taiwan’s democracy could impact and facilitate China’s democratization,” Wang said.
However, no detailed discussion on regulations concerning Chinese students — including whether to include Chinese students in the National Health Insurance (NHI) plan or relax the “three restrictions and six noes” — had yet been made between him and Su, Wang added.
The three restrictions limit enrolment to Chinese students from “schools of high academic standing,” places a cap on how many Chinese are allowed to study in Taiwan and does not recognize medical diplomas obtained in China.
The six noes refer to no preferential grading on entrance exams, no scholarships, no effect on Taiwanese student enrolment openings, no part-time jobs in Taiwan, no participation in licensing examinations and no extended stay in Taiwan following graduation.
Praising the DPP’s China engagement as “promoting cross-strait democratic development,” Wang said the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) should follow suit.
Wang made the remarks in response to a CNA interview with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Monday, during which Ma described the DPP’s China policy as “lacking courage.”
Turning to his planned publication, Wang Dan’s Book of Memories — From the 6/4 Incident to Exile (王丹回憶錄－從六四到流亡) Wang, a student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protest, said no one had yet provided the public with a detailed and thorough account of the massacre which brought the protests to a bloody end.
“This memoir is a depiction of a man, a country and an era which hopefully provides a vivid reflection on the past 30 years of China through historical events,” Wang said.
“If I don’t write them down now, some memories [of the incident] could become blurred over time,” Wang added.
The publication tells the personal stories of Wang’s childhood and teenage years, as well as the 1989 Massacre — including detailed records of the days between the death of former Chinese Communist Party general secretary Hu Yaobang (胡耀邦) on April 15, 1989, and the brutal crackdown of protestors by the People’s Liberation Army on June 4 in the same year.
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