Relations between Taiwan and China are likely to remain rocky and complex this year with plenty of uncertainty and potential risks, a senior Chinese official responsible for Taiwan affairs said yesterday.
Beijing will continue its adherence to the so-called “1992 consensus” and its opposition to any efforts to achieve Taiwanese independence to uphold China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) said during an interview with CCTV News.
China will also continue to promote cross-strait exchanges on various fronts to enhance the well-being of Taiwanese, Chang said, adding that Beijing is working on a slew of measures to benefit Taiwanese studying, working, starting up businesses and living in China.
“We believe people on the two sides of the strait have the ability and wisdom to overcome present difficulties and remove all obstacles to allow cross-strait relations to advance further,” he said.
Chang also reiterated the importance of accepting the “1992 consensus” as the political foundation for cross-strait peace and stability, saying that any attempt to undermine that foundation will see cross-strait ties return to turbulence.
The foundation on which the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and mutual political trust has been built since 2008 was undermined last year, Chang 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 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
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