Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Julian Kuo (郭正亮), who is to return to the Legislative Yuan as an at-large lawmaker, yesterday denied allegations that he is pro-China, saying that his cross-strait stance is “almost the same” as the DPP’s.
Kuo has been named to replace DPP Legislator Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who has been appointed to head the Committee of Illegal Party Asset Settlement that was mandated by the Act Governing the Handling of Illegal Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例), which took effect yesterday.
In a radio interview yesterday, Kuo said that his position on cross-strait relations is more or less the same as that of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and not much different from the DPP’s general position.
He said that he has never supported the so-called “1992 consensus,” a term created by then-Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2000 to refer to a tacit understanding of “one China,” with China and Taiwan each having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
It will be exceedingly hard to cross the current impasse in cross-strait relations before the Chinese Communist Party’s 19th National Congress — which is scheduled for November next year, he said.
Criticism that he is “green on the outside and blue on the inside” or “China-leaning and opposed to Taiwanese independence” are “rubbish,” he said.
His disagreements with government are not meant to target Tsai or Premier Lin Chuan (林全), it is just that he questions whether government policy is too pro-US, he said.
“The DPP is a free and democratic party that tolerates the discussion of different ideas, but when the party’s Central Committee makes a resolute decision, it must be respected. After I return to the Legislative Yuan, I will have the opportunity to communicate directly with Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) and DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘),” he said.
Tsai and Lin are not opposed to the promotion of trade in goods with China, but they cannot use the so-called “1992 consensus” as the prerequisite for doing so, Kuo said.
Trade in goods across the Taiwan Strait is normally negotiated through the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), for which Kuo used to act as the DPP’s spokesman on the issue.
“When all is said and done, Taiwanese businesses cannot omit the Chinese market,” Kuo said.
Kuo has also come under criticism for a drunk-driving offense in February.
He took full responsibility for the incident and would not make the same mistake again, he said, adding that if he were to re-offend, he would resign.
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