“Among other measures, Beijing might call upon Taiwan to stop purchasing weapons from the United States, phase out it institutionalized military ties with Washington, and formalize the [so-called] 1992 consensus into law,” he said.
Lynch concluded that Ma probably has a one-year window to generate the kind of “Taiwan consensus” on cross-strait relations that Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the party’s presidential candidate, said was essential for strengthening Taiwan’s hand prior to any political negotiations.
“Nothing less than the future of one of Asia’s most advanced democracies is at stake,” Lynch said.



