Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Huang Kun-hui (黃昆輝) yesterday criticized President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) decision to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), saying he is “sacrificing Taiwan’s national interests for personal reputation.”
At a press conference at the TSU headquarters in Taipei, Huang accused Ma of breaking a promise he made in 2011 while running for re-election that he would not meet with China’s leader during his second term.
“Ma is sacrificing Taiwan’s national interests for his reputation, and the opaque decisionmaking process is defying both the legislature and the public,” Huang said, adding that the legislature must keep an eye on Ma and keep him in check after a new president is elected on Jan. 16.
Ma does not leave office until May 20.
Huang said that Ma cited “maintaining the ‘status quo’ and cross-strait peace” as the reasons behind meeting with Xi, “but at the moment, there are no armed clashes between Taiwan and China, and the ‘status quo’ is that China’s jurisdiction does not cover Taiwan.”
“The two reasons Ma has cited for the meeting do not exist,” Huang said. “A Ma-Xi meeting would not be a plus, rather, it would create an impression of ‘one China’ in the international community.”
While the meeting would not generate any actual benefits for Taiwan, it would only make things worse as China’s Taiwan Affairs Office announced that it would be an “unofficial meeting” under the ‘one China’ principle, Huang said.
“I do not see how that is meaningful for the nation,” he said.
Huang said that since Ma did not negotiate with the legislature and does not plan to make the meeting public, the president must clarify what he talks about with Xi and what promises that he might make.
Huang said he has requested that the TSU caucus boycott Ma’s intended report to the legislature and does not endorse any results from the meeting.
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