Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Tuesday criticized former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for saying that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) refusal to acknowledge the so-called “1992 consensus” risked bringing the nation to the brink of war.
Ma was already under fire for an earlier comment about a possible military conflict between Taiwan and China, in which he said the “first battle will be the last.”
On the surface, Ma’s comments about war and Tsai’s position on the “1992 consensus” are an attack on the Democratic Progressive Party administration.
They could also be interpreted as an attempt to implicitly question the trajectory of reform at the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), to which he belongs, as KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) has not only shown himself willing to listen to younger party members’ demands for reform, he is soliciting their input.
Ma has been watching the process with alarm. After Chiang suggested retiring the “1992 consensus,” with its acknowledgment of “one China, with each side having its own interpretation,” Ma responded by saying that the party turns its back on its core values and the “1992 consensus” at its own peril.
Chiang, fingers burned, retreated.
Ma likely regards dropping the “1992 consensus” as more than just jeopardizing his legacy; it is a challenge to the soul of the KMT in its current iteration, one he was instrumental in constructing.
The party needs to protect the idea of the Republic of China (ROC), and that demands — by definition — the requisite that it represents China. With no ROC, there can be no KMT.
Chiang has never said that he would capitulate on safeguarding the ROC. However, Ma apparently believes that retiring the “1992 consensus” would place the party at the top of a very slippery slope.
Ma’s comments have been interpreted as a form of capitulation to China, although Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) on Tuesday said that his words had been taken out of context.
If his recent comments on the “1992 consensus” were, indeed, meant more as a way to focus debate on the direction of party reform, he has shown that he is unwilling to capitulate on the KMT’s “core values” and the function of the “1992 consensus,” or stand to one side as these cast-iron tenets of the party during his own term in office are challenged.
Unfortunately for the party, Ma’s preoccupations are very much out of touch with the prevailing winds of Taiwanese politics and the public will.
However, he cannot be ignored. He retains clout within the KMT, and was fabulously successful at the ballot box when he was leading the party.
For many of the party faithful, who have been through a rough time since Tsai’s 2016 victory, Ma represents the heyday of the KMT in Taiwan after democratization.
His endorsement has lost its potency, but it should not be forgotten that he was the party’s rock star for 16 years, gaining and then holding the position of Taipei mayor, and then doing the same, as soon as his second term as mayor was over, for the presidency. For a time, he was unbeatable.
There are now rumors that Ma is considering standing for the KMT chairmanship next year. Even if those are unfounded, they do say something of the mood within the party.
While some might wish that Ma would just fade gracefully into the background, his candidacy would actually be good news for Chiang and the younger generation who are pro-reform. If Ma does stand, it would set up a battle between himself, representing the old guard, and Chiang and perhaps former KMT chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫).
It would be a chance for party members to embrace or reject Ma’s dated vision for the KMT for good, and for the next generation of leaders to show their mettle.
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