China has to take responsibility for skewing the so-called “1992 consensus,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday, adding that Beijing omitted “different interpretations” and only focused on “one China.”
Ma made the remarks when asked about discussion within the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) following its losses in the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections about whether the party should improve or abandon the “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” — a term that 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 Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Photo: CNA
“Both Taiwan and the Mainland have agreed to the consensus — otherwise, there would be no consensus. I think everyone misunderstands the consensus. It is, of necessity, a Taiwanese consensus and also one across the Taiwan Strait — only then would it have any effect,” Ma said yesterday.
The “consensus” benefits Taiwan by offering it flexibility and echoing the “one China” principle as stated by the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution — both of which enable cross-strait interaction, Ma added.
“I think the Mainland has to take certain responsibility for the misunderstanding, as it has placed too much emphasis on ‘one China’ and forgets there is the component ‘each side having its own interpretation,’” Ma said, adding that not clearing up the matter would make cross-strait relations increasingly difficult.
In a related development, KMT Youth League head Hsiao Ching-yan (蕭敬嚴) on Friday proposed that the party should move away from pro-unification discourse.
Taiwanese have “achieved consensus in refusing to acknowledge the legitimacy of the 1992 consensus,” Hsiao said in an interview with the China Review News Agency, adding that the party should find a new consensus, one that is anti-unification.
While acknowledging that his view was similar to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP), Hsiao said that, based on his observations, any variation of the “1992 consensus” — as long as it contained the same “one China with separate interpretations” spirit — would likely be rejected by Taiwanese.
Hsiao added that his observations showed that Taiwanese agree with three concepts: “the ROC is in Taiwan,” “independent sovereignty should not be violated” and “unification should be adamantly opposed.”
Given this, Hsiao urged the party to base its cross-strait discourse on these three concepts.
However, KMT Central Advisory Committee member Chang Ya-ping (張雅屏) slammed Hsiao’s suggestion.
The KMT is “the defender of the ROC” and the Constitution is the “Constitution of the ROC,” which supports the “one China” ideology, Chang said.
The KMT must defend the Constitution and becoming anti-unification is to “deny the legitimacy of the ROC Constitution,” he said, adding that any person who refuses to defend the Constitution should resign from the KMT.
An Internet user said that it was perplexing that such a good idea from Hsiao — one that could win the party votes from the younger generation — should be met with such hostility by the party’s leadership.
Pro-unification supporters in the KMT should leave Taiwan, another netizen said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS