President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) “historical fact of the 1992 meeting” model has failed to provide a “script that could endure examination” and resolve the cross-strait stalemate, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), the former legislative speaker, said yesterday.
Tsai has since her inauguration avoided mentioning the so-called “1992 consensus,” instead referring to a “1992 meeting,” which she said is an undeniable “historical fact.”
Wang said there is a “serious lack of mutual trust” between the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Communist Party, as each holds its own unalienable core interests that have turned into “red lines” that cannot be contradicted by the other side.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsung, Taipei Times
“Taiwan’s cross-strait strategic planning will find the most advantageous way out of this limited space. It is a titanic political project and as the DPP has become the ruling party, it should not shun its responsibility to solve the predicament,” he said.
Wang said that while different ruling parties in Taiwan could “draw their own subjective red lines, what matters most is how much objective strength they own to stand fast to keep the red lines.”
The government should not rely on non-establishment experts, but should use the nation’s institutional resources, he said.
“Vague strategy would not give us a way out of the quandary we are in. Tsai proposed a ‘1992 historical fact’ to differentiate herself from former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) ‘1992 consensus’ and ‘one China, different interpretations’ framework, but without comprehensive strategic planning, she has failed to substantiate her view, let alone solve the cross-strait impasse,” Wang said.
He said that Taiwan cannot expect the US and Japan to solve the issue of Taiwan’s international participation.
“Under the administration’s policy that takes a more US and Japan-friendly stance, while keeping its distance from China, Taiwan can no longer negotiate with Beijing, and the government should let the public know the price they have to pay,” he said.
Wang also lashed out at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ decision to reduce the number of diplomatic missions.
“It is an incredible policy. When it is likely that Taiwan will face more difficult international challenges, the ministry decides to do away with some overseas offices, which amount to tearing down protective walls with our own hands,” he said.
Wang also called on DPP lawmakers to join the KMT caucus to file a request in the legislature for a constitutional interpretation of the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten 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 he said is legally and constitutionally problematic.
For sake of political harmony and to ensure the act’s legitimacy, the DPP should file the request with the KMT, which would then have no reason to protest the handling of its assets.
A request for a constitutional interpretation requires the signatures of the one-third, or 38, of the legislators.
The KMT has only 35 seats and needs to form an alliance with lawmakers from other parties to reach the threshold.
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