Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) yesterday lashed out at Taipei mayor-elect Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) for saying that the “1992 consensus” is outdated and that new ideas are needed to conduct cross-strait exchanges.
Ko made the remarks during an interview published on Tuesday by the Central News Agency in which he proposed replacing the “1992 consensus” with the “four mutuals” — mutual knowledge, mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual cooperation.
Wang responded that the “1992 consensus” is an essential and practical part of cross-strait exchanges, adding that Ko should learn more about the matter before commenting on it.
Photo: Chen Ping-hung, Taipei Times
“As a mayor[-elect] of a local government, Ko does not have to make remarks on cross-strait exchanges, but if he really wishes to comment on this, he should first take an in-depth look into the backdrop against which the ‘1992 consensus’ was created and at its effect on cross-strait exchanges today,” Wang said.
The “consensus” refers to an alleged tacit agreement reached in 1992 that both Taiwan and China belong to one China, with each side having their own interpretation of what “one China” means.
Although the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government claimed that the consensus was agreed upon during the first cross-strait conference in Singapore in 1992, former MAC minister Su Chi (蘇起), who was involved in the 1992 meeting, later said he made up the term.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Wang yesterday said that the “1992 consensus” is certainly “ambiguous,” but it is that ambiguity which gives Taiwan and China a buffer zone when dealing with politically sensitive issues.
“I would say that it is because of the ‘1992 consensus’ that cross-strait relations have been able to progress so much since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in 2008. We can see how bad things got during the Democratic Progressive Party administration, when the government refused to recognize the ‘consensus,’” Wang said.
Responding to Wang’s remarks, Ko said the “1992 consensus” has been around for 22 years and yet cross-strait relations are still unclear.
“We need some new ideas in dealing with cross-strait relations,” he said.
However, Ko added that, as a mayor, he has no authority to deal with cross-strait issues, but had been “merely making the remarks [in the interview] as a citizen of the nation, so if Wang thinks he is better at that, he can deal with cross-strait exchanges however he wants.”
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique