Taiwan (ANTARA News) - Taiwan should no longer engage in the dispute over whether to be independent or to unify with China, as this will constrain Taiwan's future, an Australian scholar said Sunday in Taipei.

Bruce Jacobs, a professor at Australia's Monash University, CNA told, also said at a seminar that the framework for Taiwanese independence or unification with China is set by China.

The seminar was organized by opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Tan-sun and pro-DPP groups such as the Taiwan Association of University Professors.

Citing the results of recent polls conducted by the Election Study Center of Taipei-based National Chengchi University, Jacobs said that some 90 percent of the Taiwanese public support either the status quo in the Taiwan Strait or Taiwanese independence.

Maintaining the status quo means the de facto independence of Taiwan and as a result, there is no point in Taiwan engaging on the issue of independence versus unification, he said.

Instead, he suggested, Taiwan should emphasize its process of decolonization when engaging in the international community, as many countries share the same experiences, to promote mutual understanding.

"This will be a better direction," he said.  Over the centuries, Taiwan has been colonized in turn by the Netherlands, Spain and Japan.

(A045/H-AK)

Editor: Ade P Marboen
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