Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday crossed swords with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) as she interviewed him in her capacity as founder of Formosa Weekly on issues relating to politics, sovereignty, cross-strait relations, foreign affairs and national defense.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) defined the meeting as “an interview,” while Lu said it was “an interview-cum-dialogue,” adding that it was not a political debate between the pan-blue and pan-green camps.
She also dismissed criticism that she had belittled herself by meeting Ma as a media personality rather than as a former vice president.
Lu made the remarks during a press conference she held after the 75-minute interview.
On sovereignty and cross-strait affairs, Ma said during the interview that the so-called “1992 consensus” does exist and was not coined by National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起).
Lu said while Beijing was glad to negotiate with the Ma administration under the so-called “1992 consensus,” Beijing had been inconsistent in its position on the definition of the term.
Ma responded that the two sides could not resume negotiations without the “1992 consensus,” which he said refers to “one China, with each side having its own interpretation.”
Lu suggested the ruling and opposition parties recognize the so-called “1996 consensus,” whereby Taiwan became a de jure sovereign state on March 23, 1996, when Taiwanese first directly elected their national leader.
On foreign affairs, Ma said the former Democratic Progressive Party administration secured three diplomatic allies but lost nine, while his administration has managed to maintain the 23 diplomatic allies thanks to its flexible approach and “honest diplomacy.”
Lu, for her part, said Ma has adopted a foreign policy that leans toward Beijing, opposes Tokyo, distances itself from Washington and is indifferent to the country's diplomatic allies.
Lu said former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had adopted a more aggressive approach because of Beijing's three "guang" (三光政策) diplomatic strategy. It refers to Beijing's determination to “take all” of Taiwan's diplomatic allies, “block all” of Taiwan's international channels and “crush all” of its international presence.
The reason Beijing has stopped luring Taiwan’s diplomatic allies during Ma’s presidency is because it has realized it no longer needs to buy Taiwan’s allies, she said.
Asked whether Ma intends to establish a military confidence-building measure or ink a peace agreement during his presidency, Ma said he would not rule it out but that he did not have a timetable.
His policy has always been to tackle the earlier and more urgent issues first and economic issues precedes political ones, he said.
When Lu asked whether the Ma administration could ask Beijing not to block Taipei from signing a free-trade agreement with other countries during the country's negotiations with Beijing on signing an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), Ma said it would be tantamount to asking for Beijing’s permission and therefore denigrating the nation’s sovereignty.
The two sides held the first round of official negotiations on an ECFA on Jan. 26. Ma said the second round will be held at the end of this month or the beginning of next month.
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