President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday urged the next president to refrain from being “ungrateful” for his efforts and to “cherish” the “bridge of peace” that he has built across the Taiwan Strait in the past seven years.
“I hope the cross-strait policies of the next administration will continue in the right direction, following the pragmatic and effective policies that we have implemented in the past seven years,” Ma said in his New Year address, as the Jan. 16 presidential election is expected to result in a change in government.
Ma said he built a “bridge of peace” in his Nov. 7 meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Singapore, adding that it is not only a bridge across the Taiwan Strait, but one that also crosses the “barricades of history,” urging the next president to cherish the accomplishment and “not be ungrateful for my efforts.”
“Since the beginning of my first term, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have created a cooperative model through reconciliation and exchanges, ushering in the most stable and peaceful period in cross-strait relations since the two sides came under separate rule 66 years ago,” Ma said.
He said that all three presidential candidates proposed to maintain the “status quo” and said that this has “never happened before.”
Maintaining the “status quo” is what he described as the “Taiwan consensus,” and the so-called “1992 consensus” is the basis for cross-strait interactions, Ma said.
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
The cross-strait “status quo,” based on the “1992 consensus,” has garnered public support and is an important asset for cross-strait peace and regional stability, Ma said.
It is impossible to say “maintain the ‘status quo’” and “abide by the Constitution” on one hand and not accept the “1992 consensus” on the other, Ma said, adding that the consensus comforms with the Constitution of the Republic of China.
He said that cross-strait peace would be achieved gradually and should not be taken for granted.
The peace and prosperity that Taiwan enjoys today were unimaginable during the 1996 Taiwan Strait missile crisis and the conflict and antagonism of 2006 under the administration of then-President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Ma said.
“I sincerely hope that the next administration will be wise and handle things with caution and not misjudge the situation, thereby subjecting the people of Taiwan to turmoil and fear,” he said.
Additional reporting by: Loa Iok-sin
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