I admit that I was not familiar with the actual terms of the Guidelines for National Unification when President Chen announced that they will be scrapped. To hear the DPP side of things, the Guidelines must completely and unequivocally sell out Taiwan to Mainland China, and only a commie lover would like them. Yesterday the Taipei Times published the Guidelines in the newspaper. They are not posted on their web edition, but they are available from the Mainland Affairs Council web site. It’s pretty short, so go read it for yourself:
Guidelines for National Unification
After reading it, it’s hard to imagine how anyone could dislike the Guidelines unless they were opposed to any kind of unification at all. As a prerequisite for reunification, the Mainland must allow freedom of expression, be democratic, and follow the rule of law. Mainland China may not endanger the security of Taiwan. Reunification should be on the basis of parity and reciprocity. Both sides must support participation of each other in international organizations. And unification can only happen with the consent of the Taiwan people.
I can easily agree with those requirements, and under those terms the Mainland has a lot to achieve before unification is possible.