The premier was fielding questions from opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chen-ching about his views on Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's March 14 remarks that China will let Taiwan "benefit more" in negotiations on a cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) through tariff concessions and the "early harvest" program because "we are siblings." China must have ulterior motives in making such a goodwill offer to Taiwan, Su said, because the number of missiles it has deployed against Taiwan has increased annually.

For his part, Wu said that when he made his first-ever visit to China more than a year ago as a ruling Kuomintang legislator, Chinese officials told him that Taiwan earned US$50 billion to US$60 billion in hard currency from China in 2007 alone.

The premier said he had told his Chinese hosts: "You let us make US$50 billion or US$60 billion, but you made US$200 billion to US$300 billion through your deals with us. Cross-strait affairs are mutually beneficial, creating a win-win scenario, and by no means unilaterally benefit Taiwan." As Wu said earlier this month that the word "unification" would not appear in an ECFA or related documents, DPP Legislator Wang Sing-nan asked the premier what the government's plan was for the development of cross-strait relations -- immediate unification, future unification or maintaining the status quo.

Wu said that as far as cross-strait relations are concerned, two things are the most important. "The first is maintaining the status quo and the second is that regardless of Taiwan's future, it should be determined by all of its residents, " he said, adding that peaceful development and the status quo are the best strategies for both sides.

(By Huang Ming-hsi and Sofia Wu)