The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday labeled the dialogue between former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) “pointless” because they didn’t find any common ground, adding that the meeting should never have taken place.
Lu on Thursday crossed swords with Ma as she interviewed him in her capacity as founder of Formosa Weekly, with the two exchanging views on issues such as politics, sovereignty, cross-strait relations, foreign affairs and national defense.
“Lu and Ma had totally different views on the subjects,” DPP spokesman Chuang Shuo-han (莊碩漢) said, adding that “there was no agreement during their conversation, so the meeting was pointless.”
“The party knows that as a president with very low approval ratings, Ma needs a stage on which to grandstand, but people do not want to see a show from a president who is unable to solve real problems affecting the public,” Chuang said, adding that Ma should keep his mouth shut and concentrate on resolving national problems.
During the interview, Ma again mentioned his wish to hold a meeting with DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Tsai responded yesterday by saying she would only meet the president if he showed sincerity.
The DPP has never rejected meeting Ma, but the dialogue has to be meaningful, Tsai said, adding that meeting him was unnecessary if it were only for the purpose of political manipulation.
Ma has talked about meeting Tsai for more than one year. But while Tsai has insisted that the meeting be a debate on cross-strait policies and other significant national interests, the Presidential Office has rejected that.
Ma told Lu that the so-called “1992 consensus” did exist and was not coined by National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起).
Ma said Taiwan and China could not have resumed negotiations without the “1992 consensus,” which he said refers to “one China, with each side having its own interpretation.”
The DPP says the “1992 consensus” doesn’t exist.
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