While Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) cross-strait policy has recently been put in the spotlight, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) considers itself to have the upper hand in the issue, underscoring its continued adherence to the so-called “1992 consensus.”
While the DPP has settled on its presidential candidate, the KMT is mired in a nebulous situation where not a single party heavyweight has announced an intention to run for president.
However, a source from the pan-blue camp said that as the KMT’s cross-strait standpoint and policies are relatively clear, it would have an advantage over the DPP in being able to “stabilize the cross-strait relationship” without further explanations and clarifications.
The KMT is thus better than the DPP at promoting cross-strait trust and interaction, the source said.
The majority of Taiwanese support positive interactions and peaceful development, but oppose unpredictability between the two sides across the Taiwan Strait, according to the source, who added that many “economic voters” who travel between the two nations would be expected to think rationally.
“Economic voters” is a phrase used to refer to Taiwanese citizens who hold large financial stakes in China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) earlier this month described the “1992 consensus” as “recognizing that the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China,” to which the KMT did not respond directly.
However, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said in Hong Kong on March 9 that the KMT’s position on cross-strait relations is “sticking to the ‘1992 consensus.’”
The KMT is a fervent believer in the “consensus,” the source said, adding that it remains the foundation of cross-strait mutual trust.
Following Chu’s identification with the “1992 consensus” as the party’s guideline on cross-strait issues, a KMT party member said that the party can be sure that the future KMT presidential candidate — whoever that might be — would fall in line on this position, and the public would be able to distinguish the two parties by their respective cross-strait policies.
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both Taiwan and China acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what that means.
In 2006, then-KMT lawmaker Su Chi (蘇起) said that he created the term in 2000 when he was Mainland Affairs Council chairman.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary