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Presidential Office denies claims made by PFP legislator

The Presidential Office yesterday sternly denied that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) ever told People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) that he is opposed to Taiwan's independence.

In a news statement released last night, the Presidential Office also clarified that Chen has never accepted the existence of the so-called "1992 consensus." The statement came in reaction to remarks by PFP Legislator Chang Shien-yao (張顯耀), who said the president had in private told the PFP that he "is willing to resume dialogue with China if it accepts the result of talks that took place between the two sides of the Strait in Hong Kong in 1992." Chang linked this statement -- which is similar to Chen's public statements -- with the "1992 consensus," suggesting that Chen had acknowledged that a consensus took place.

Chang made his claims yesterday during a question-and-answer session with Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) at the Legislative Yuan. Chang said the president told the PFP Chairman that he is opposed to Taiwan independence during his meeting with Soong on Feb. 24. Chang noted that Presidential Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun, who attended the "Bian-Soong meeting" in its entirety, had also heard the president make the remarks.

The statement from the Presidential Office, however, said, "President Chen never during the `Bian-Soong meeting' said he is opposed to Taiwan independence." It added that the president's stance has always been clearly specified in the "four noes" pledge that he made in his inauguration speeches in 2000 and 2004 -- which include a promise not to formally declare independence.

While noting that the president previously stated that he is willing to push for re-opening of cross-strait dialogue based on the "results" of the 1992 Hong Kong talks, the statement stressed that, as the Presidential Office had reiterated many times, there is no such thing as a "1992 consensus," as Soong claimed in his communique with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) during his recent trip to China.

The pan-blue camp claims a consensus was reached in 1992 in which both Taiwan and China accepted the "one China" concept but had their own interpretations of what "one China" meant -- a formula that led to semiofficial talks between the two sides in Singapore the following year. The DPP denies any consensus occurred, saying the two sides merely agreed to disagree.

The Presidential Office also dismissed a claim by PFP Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) that the president is planning on making a trip to China this August.
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