兩岸間應有一過渡性質的「中程協定」以規範兩岸關係，已是美國國務院近日之 主流意見。本文目的在討論，兩岸在面對未來《兩岸基礎協定》時的一些可有的思考。本文 包括「過渡性協議」觀念的產生與相關的法理討論；美國對兩岸互動立場的轉變；美中台與 國際間對兩岸「現狀」的認知；一九七二年東西德《基礎條約》的經驗及對兩岸關係的啟示 ；以及未來《兩岸基礎協定》宜有的重要內涵。最後作者認為，「兩岸均為整個中國的一部 分」、「兩岸均具國家屬性」、「平等而不對稱」、「兩岸以統合方式邁向統一」，是未來兩岸協 商《基礎協定》時可思考的方向。

　　　　　That Taiwan and Mainland China should work out an "interim agreement" to guide cross- Strait relations has come to be the mainstream opinion of the U.S. government. This article provides some food for thought regarding future talks on any such basic agreement between Taiwan and Mainland China. Discussion includes: the generation of the concept of "interim agreement" and related legal problems such an agreement raise; the transformation of the U.S. stance on cross- Taiwan Strait relations; the understanding of the "status quo" of cross-Taiwan Strait relations held by the U.S., Taiwan, Mainland China and other countries; the 1972 Basic Treaty between West and East Germany and its possible revelations for cross-Strait relations; and essential issues a future "cross- Taiwan Strait basic agreement" should address. This article concludes with some key conceptions for a future basic agreement between Taiwan and Mainland China including: "Taiwan and Mainland China are parts of a whole China," "the PRC and ROC both posses state attributes," "equal but not symmetrical," and "the two sides seek a final unification by means of integration."