On the eve of president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) inauguration, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday warned the incoming Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government against disrupting cross-strait peace with its rejection of the so-called “1992 consensus” and promotion of “Taiwanese cultural independence.”
Hung made the remarks in a recorded speech posted on Facebook, in which she extended her congratulations to Tsai and vice president-elect Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) on their inauguration and reflected on the performance of the outgoing KMT government.
“On this day, I believe all of your hearts are filled with mixed feelings, because after today, our nation will enter into a state of great uncertainty,” Hung said.
While transitions of power are normal in mature democracies, they often raise public concern in Taiwan due to the nation’s special circumstances and the DPP’s ideology, which runs contrary to that of Beijing, she said.
Reiterating the KMT’s respect for voters’ decision to elect the DPP, Hung said the KMT hoped that the new DPP administration would bear in mind the nation’s dignity, public security and social prosperity, as well as cross-strait peace, while endeavoring to be a responsible government.
“We might not be able to prevent the Tsai administration from undermining the paths to peaceful development of cross-strait relations if the new government is reluctant to step out of its ideological morass, refuses to acknowledge the 1992 consensus and insists on pushing for Taiwanese cultural independence,” Hung said.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Nevertheless, such disrupters of the cross-strait “status quo” would be held fully accountable for the damage they cause to the nation’s development, security, dignity, prosperity and peace, Hung added.
As an opposition party, Hung said the KMT’s responsibility would be to supervise those in power in a legal and rational manner.
“Allow us to give you a piece of advice: The nation belongs to the people, and no challenges or arbitrary interpretations of its Constitution will be tolerated. Exploiting populism might put you in power for a short while, but you cannot escape the judgement of history,” Hung said.
Looking back at the governance of outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration over the past eight years, Hung said that, although the KMT government failed to live up to the public’s expectations, its performance was not as disastrous as the public has perceived.
“We have created the most peaceful environment in half a century. Verbal intimidation and saber-rattling as seen in the past across the Taiwan Strait were nowhere to be found over the past eight years,” Hung said.
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