"Cease to function" or "Abolish"?

About the National Unification Guidelines/Council.
President Chen declared that the guidelines have "ceased to apply", whereas the latter council has "ceased to function"...but does that mean the same as "abolish"?
What's the difference?

A subtle one I guess. If it's ceased to function, then it still exists, but simply has no purpose any more. If it's abolished, then it has become history. Why the difference? I guess it is more a compromise, a play of words shrewd politicians like Chen like to engage in. It placates the Americans, who have been against Chen's intentions from the very start, and it probably is seeking to calm China down, even though it didn't have that effect.

I am for the abolishment, though the ceasure of functioning and applying will do.
That document is an outdated attempt by a minority of people in Taiwan who for over five decades have exploited and mislead Taiwanese people into believing in the legend that Taiwan is a part of the great motherland called China. The document and council were drafted at a time when politics and society were just recovering from the days of authoritarianism and one-party rule; a time when party (leader) policy became synomonous with national policy.

In today's Taiwan, in a democratic and free society, such nonsense drafted without the people's consent has no place.

UPDATE　15 March 2006
Has the US lost track of its fundamental values when it comes to dealing with Taiwan?

"The US, however, is under pressure from China to oppose Taiwan holding such a referendum. What other possibilities are there, apart from a referendum? A unilateral declaration by the Taiwanese government that unites it with China? Would the US agree with that? That may not be what the US wants to see, either. The US does not want any of the above options. So what is the US' ultimate stance on the Taiwan issue?
Taiwan's situation has changed. After the dissolution of the authoritarian state, the Taiwanese people's self-awareness has been awakened. The number of people advocating independence or self-determination is increasing constantly. They are dissatisfied with the "status quo" and they demand the right to decide their own future. They are getting increasingly tired of the US. "


MAY 2, 2006
Inane Flap Over an Outdated and Inept National Unification Council