President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of being “impractical” for denying the existence of the so-called “1992 consensus,” saying the term was key to cross-strait negotiations.
While former National Security Council secretary-general Su Chi (蘇起) has admitted he coined the term in 2000, Ma yesterday said “he remembered” that the media began using it in 1992.
Without the consensus, Ma said late Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫) would not have met his Chinese counterpart, former Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) chairman Wang Daohan (汪道涵), in Singapore in 1993.
“Nor would Beijing have wanted to resume high-level talks with us,” he said.
“The DPP can oppose the ‘1992 consensus,’ but it cannot deny its existence because it is impractical and removed from the facts” he told a gathering of reporters at Taipei Guest House.
Asked to comment on a remark by DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday that it was hard for her to recognize the so-called “1992 consensus” as it did not exist, Ma said the DPP had declined to recognize the existence of the consensus for a long time, which contributed to the limited progress it made in improving cross-strait ties during the eight years it was in power.
About one month into his first term, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said he would acknowledge the consensus if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) did the same, Ma said.
Still, Tsai, who was Mainland Affairs Council minister at the time, continues to deny this, he said.
In March 2006, Ma said Chen told him he would “respect” the consensus if China also recognized its existence after he and the former president had a two-hour debate.
“It is clear that the ‘1992 consensus’ exists in the eyes of the KMT [Chinese Nationalist Party] and the CCP,” Ma said.
Although they have different interpretations of “one China,” their definitions carry the “same significance,” he said.
“In other words, both sides agree they reached a consensus in 1992,” he said, adding that his administration’s acceptance of the consensus strengthened China’s willingness to resume cross-strait talks and improve relations.
Ma said that while he was not seeking to embarrass the DPP, he was curious to know how the DPP, if it returned to power, could honor its promise to continue the KMT’s policy if it denied the existence of the consensus.
On cross-strait talks, Ma said they did not necessarily have to be held twice a year and that the scheduling should be more flexible.
He also denied it was time for both sides to tackle more difficult, non-economic issues, saying more urgent issues of an economic nature had yet to be addressed.
Meanwhile, Ma, who doubles as KMT chairman, sought to distance himself from the controversy surrounding maverick party city councilors who failed to vote for party nominees for council speakers and deputy speakers on Saturday, saying he would respect the decision of the party’s local chapters.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines at 7:38am today, prompting the US Tsunami Warning System to issue an alert for neighboring countries, including Taiwan. The system issued a purple alert indicating a "tsunami threat." The potential threat zone includes Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Yap and Palau. A spokesperson for Indonesia disaster mitigation agency said there were no reports of damage so far. Arlene Hollero, disaster chief of Maasim town in the Philippines' Sarangani Province, said their evacuation was underway in coastal villages and there were no reported casualties so far. DZBB radio, broadcasting from the
RESILIENCE: Taiwan plays a key role in semiconductors, energy, information infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, AIT Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan’s continued investment in deterrence and resilience remains vital, especially in uncrewed systems and other emerging technologies, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday. Greene made the remarks at the annual National Strategic Summit on Supply Chain Resilience held by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), a government-backed think tank. As Taiwan last year became the US’ fourth-largest trading partner and supply chain security is becoming more important, cooperation in emerging technologies continues to deepen between the two countries, he said. The US is committed to accelerating innovation, building key infrastructure, strengthening cooperation
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
RSS