Former minister of foreign affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) on Friday criticized President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for not seeking Taiwanese independence, accusing her of wrongly blaming the loss of the nation’s allies on China.
“There is no problem of pressure [from China],” Ou said. “If you’re so capable, then why not seek independence? If you’re not capable and you lose, blaming others is useless.”
Ou made the comments on Friday at a forum held by a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) think tank in response to the loss of diplomatic ally Burkina Faso on Thursday, at which he blamed the loss of allies on Tsai’s refusal to accept the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Burkina Faso is the fourth country to cut ties with Taiwan since Tsai of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office in May 2016. Over the eight preceding years under former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT, who supported the “1992 consensus,” Taiwan lost only one diplomatic ally.
Tsai’s refusal to acknowledge the “1992 consensus” has resulted in China pushing forward with its “one China” principle and has affected the nation’s foreign affairs, Ou said, citing the forced renaming of some of the nation’s representative offices abroad and the requirement that international companies operating in China refer to Taiwan as part of China.
Former KMT legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) also accused Tsai of blaming the loss of allies on China, comparing her to protagonist Ah-Q (阿Q) from Chinese author Lu Xun’s (魯迅) early 20th-century story The True Story of Ah-Q (阿Q正傳).
Tsai refuses to accept defeat and to reflect on her strategical errors, Lin said.
The DPP has not critically reflected on its ideology or the failures of its administration, KMT spokesman Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said, adding that the DPP has forgotten that it is the one in power now and Tsai has “shifted blame onto minority parties.”
The Tsai administration has secretly increased the foreign affairs budget fourfold over the past two years, despite the loss of several of the nation’s allies, Ou said, criticizing Tsai for referring to the nation as “Taiwan” rather than the “Republic of China” and Premier William Lai (賴清德) for calling Taiwan an independent nation.
“‘Taiwan’ is not a country. The country is the ‘Republic of China.’ Nowhere in the world does there exist a country called ‘Taiwan,’” Ou said. “‘Taiwan’ is merely the name of a place.”
Ou also criticized Tsai for celebrating the US’ passing of the Taiwan Travel Act, saying that the move would only anger Beijing and the nation is being fettered by China’s “one China” principle as a result.
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