New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Liu Jieyi (劉結一) yesterday reiterated the so-called “1992 consensus” as a basis for cross-strait relations as they met in Shanghai.
Chu is the first Taiwanese politician to meet Liu since the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Committee announced the former UN ambassador’s appointment earlier this month.
Insistence on the “1992 consensus” has been the consistent position of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Chu said.
Photo courtesy of New Taipei City Government
Even though the KMT is now the opposition party, this stance would not change, and it hopes that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait can engage in peaceful exchanges and achieve win-win cooperation, Chu said.
Although the political circumstances have changed, what people hope for most is peace, he said.
Local-level exchanges must also continue, as the two sides could learn about city governance from each other, he said.
Beijing insists on the “1992 consensus,” which reflects the “one China” principle and opposes Taiwanese independence schemes in any form, Liu said.
“The mainland’s policies toward Taiwan are to continue to uphold the ‘two sides of the Strait, one family’ ideology,” he said.
China hopes the two sides can work together for the peaceful development of relations and “jointly promote the process of the peaceful reunification of the motherland,” Chinese state media quoted Liu telling Chu.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) said in 2006 that he had made up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the CCP that the two sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
In Taipei, the Mainland Affairs Council said the government holds a positive attitude toward city-level cross-strait exchanges, but they must be handled according to relevant guidelines.
Attention must be paid to reciprocal respect, while issues pertaining to public power fall within the authority of the central government and no agreements are to be signed, it added.
The New Taipei City Government should remember to follow the relevant guidelines when it engages in cross-strait exchanges with other cities, the council said.
China should not set a one-sided political framework to limit cross-strait exchanges, it added.
In related developments, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said several Chinese military aircraft were spotted flying over the Bashi Channel yesterday as part of a long-range flight training mission in the western Pacific.
The aircraft included Su-30s, Shaanxi Y-8 transport planes and Xian H-6 bombers, which all returned to their bases in China on the same route, the ministry said.
It said it had scrambled aircraft to shadow the Chinese planes until they returned to their bases.
The military is maintaining a close watch on Chinese military movements and the necessary measures to ensure national security, the ministry added.
Additional reporting by CNA and Reuters
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
AGING: As of last month, people aged 65 or older accounted for 20.06 percent of the total population and the number of couples who got married fell by 18,685 from 2024 Taiwan has surpassed South Korea as the country least willing to have children, with an annual crude birthrate of 4.62 per 1,000 people, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday. The nation was previously ranked the second-lowest country in terms of total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime. However, South Korea’s fertility rate began to recover from 2023, with total fertility rate rising from 0.72 and estimated to reach 0.82 to 0.85 by last year, and the crude birthrate projected at 6.7 per 1,000 people. Japan’s crude birthrate was projected to fall below six,
RSS