President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) at a press conference yesterday to promote his new book stood firm on his cross-strait policy, denying the existence of the so-called 1992 consensus.
"Recognizing the `one China' principle means giving up the Republic of China. How can I remain president if the Republic of China disappears from the world," Chen said.
The president was responding to reporters' questions about his attitude toward the growing number of Taiwanese urging him to accept the "one China" principle in the interest of enhanced economic cooperation with China.
"The ROC will not be eliminated by `one country, two systems.' How could we compromise on the `one China' issue just to establish the three links [with China]?" Chen asked.
He also asked tour operators, who have urged the government to recognize the "one China" principle, to understand that the government's purpose for banning Chinese tourists from visiting Taiwan is that "China is always politicizing problems so we never know how to go about lifting the ban."
Chen said he couldn't recognize the 1992 consensus because the nation hasn't reached a consensus on the "one China" issue, adding that the Straits Exchange Foundation, a non-governmental organization representing Taiwan in cross-strait negotiations, also believes that there is no 1992 consensus.
"Taiwan's public would not agree with me if I recognized the consensus just because some individuals urged me to do so," Chen said.
Only two days earlier, Chen expressed the same view during a meeting with former US secretary of defense, William Cohen, at the Presidential Office.
"Nowhere in Taiwan's official government records is there anything that substantiates Beijing's claim that the two sides reached a consensus in 1992 on the `one China' principle," Chen said earlier at the Presidential Office.
In his meeting with Cohen Chen also said that Beijing's insistence on its `one China' principle was tantamount to a rejection of dialogue with Taiwan and would just push the two sides further apart.
However opposition politicians don't agree with Chen's statements and cautioned that the president's comments might put the country in a dangerous position.
"President Chen used to say that the `one China' principle is not an issue under the ROC constitution, but he suddenly changed his account. His tougher stance will only tighten already stressed relations," New Party Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said.
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