Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) seemed eager to drive home a message to Taiwan’s next government on Thursday, when he met with former vice president Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), saying that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to “one China.”
Li and Siew met on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia held in China’s, Hainan Province, with the Chinese premier saying that cross-strait relations would not change because a party that is known for its pro-independence stance would take over as the ruling party in Taiwan.
China plans to continue the peaceful development of bilateral ties based on the “political foundation of the 1992 consensus,” he said.
Li said the fruitful results from years of peaceful development of cross-strait ties were ample proof that maintaining the foundations of the “1992 consensus” would be a good way to create a bright future for both sides.
Not only can such a foundation maintain peace across the Strait, but it can also create benefits for people on both sides, he told Siew.
The premier said that China offers a good opportunity for Taiwan as a whole and Taiwanese investors in particular, as trade and investment ties would continue to boom based on the “1992 consensus.”
Siew agreed, saying that the foundation has been consolidated and it is the hope of everyone that the results achieved over the past eight years “will continue.”
The “1992 consensus” refers to a supposed understanding reached during cross-strait talks in 1992 that both Taiwan and China acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what that means.
In 2006, former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted he made up the term “1992 consensus” in 2000, before the KMT handed power to the Democratic Progressive Party.
Speaking at a dinner party hosted by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) later on Thursday, Siew said that Beijing should deal with future challenges with intelligence, patience and pragmatism.
Siew proposed that Beijing face reality, which, he said, refers to the decisions made by Taiwanese.
Over the past eight years, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have found an excellent common foundation for resolving their long-lasting differences, Siew said, adding that the relations between the two sides should be viewed from a long-term, rather than short-term, perspective.
Siew said he hoped that economic cooperation and exchanges between the two sides would continue to progress, no matter how bilateral ties might change.
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