Whether the “status quo” in cross-strait relations can be maintained will depend on whether Taipei and Beijing can find a mutually acceptable foundation for interaction, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Andrew Hsia (夏立言) has said.
During a recent meeting of the MAC’s advisory committee, Hsia said that if the two sides can show mutual goodwill, it would contribute to building common ground, enhancing trust and maintaining peace and stability across the Strait, according to a statement released yesterday by the MAC.
Hsia said that the so-called “1992 consensus” of “one China, different interpretations” has been a key factor enabling peace and stability across the strait over the past eight years.
The essence of the “1992 consensus” for Taiwan is highlighting the country’s sovereignty and dignity, creating conditions favorable to the development of both sides and promoting regional peace and prosperity, he said.
President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and her government are to be sworn in on May 20.
Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party deny the existence of the “1992 consensus.”
Also during the meeting, a committee member said that recent remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and other Chinese officials indicate that Beijing is still using the “1992 consensus” as the political basis for cross-strait dialogue and negotiation.
Another committee member said that cross-strait relations in the future can be assessed in several areas: steps taken by Beijing with regard to Taiwan’s foreign relations and participation in international organizations; whether institutionalized cross-strait negotiations and government-to-government interaction can continue; and whether cross-strait economic, trade and people-to-people exchanges would be affected.
Some members said that personnel changes in China’s top leadership and whether Xi’s political power is secure will both affect his policy toward Taiwan.
If Xi cannot deal with the Taiwan issue properly, he will probably draw domestic criticism, they said. With the 19th National Congress of the Chinese sCommunist Party next year, Xi will face more internal pressure, which might cause him to change his policy toward Taiwan, they said.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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