The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) cross-strait policy is not decided solely by any of the party’s former or incumbent spokespeople, KMT Central Policy Committee director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) said yesterday as he urged party members to put its new policy platform above anything else.
Tsai’s remarks at a news conference in Taipei came one day after former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) reportedly got into a heated debate over the content of the so-called “1992 consensus” at a banquet hosted by Ma.
“The KMT is a democratic political party and no one’s words alone can decide the party’s cross-strait policy, be they those of Ma, Hung or anyone else,” said Tsai, who earlier this week was named KMT spokesman.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
KMT members’ sole guiding principle should be the party’s policy platform passed by the KMT national congress at the beginning of last month, which aims to further the “1992 consensus,” explore the possibility of inking a cross-strait peace accord and institutionalize peace across the Taiwan Strait, Tsai said.
KMT members at all levels are required to comply with and jointly promote the new policy platform; there is no other rhetoric that outweighs its importance, Tsai said.
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and Beijing that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) said in 2006 that he had made up the term in 2000.
The party’s new platform has been seen as an attempt by Hung to move the KMT closer to the concept of “one China, same interpretation,” as it only mentions the “different interpretations” part once, when talking about Ma’s success in deepening cross-strait interactions during his time in office.
It omits what the pan-blue camp regards as an integral element in the political framework in following mentions in the platform, triggering concerns within the KMT that Hung might propose the framework of “one China, same interpretation” when she meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), which is expected to occur on Tuesday next week in Beijing.
There is no doubt that the “1992 consensus” includes the “one China, different interpretations” part, Tsai said, adding that it is a historical fact and a basic position laid down in the KMT’s policy platform.
As for concerns revolving around the “one China, same interpretation” formula, Tsai said Hung has not mentioned the framework since it came under fire during her campaign as the KMT’s presidential candidate last year.
“The KMT has never passed any documents that contain that framework, nor is it included in the party’s policy platform,” Tsai added.
Ma’s office issued a statement later in the day saying that Ma was merely trying to reiterate that an adherence to the “1992 consensus” and the “one China, different interpretations” formula was the KMT’s fundamental and consistent stance.
He was not trying to start a war of words, it said.
“Ma believes that the issue greatly concerns the KMT’s solidarity and development, which was why he explained the issue to the guests at the dinner,” it said.
It went on to encourage Tsai to, under the principle of the “1992 consensus” and “one China, with different interpretations,” to announce at a news conference before or after Hung’s meeting with Xi that “one China” means the Republic of China (ROC) and that both sides of the Taiwan Strait be peacefully unified under the ROC.
MAKING A MOVE: Starting on Monday, short-term business travelers can apply for shorter quarantine periods, while transits of up to eight hours would be allowed The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced an easing of restrictions that would from Monday next week allow foreigners to visit or make a transit flight in Taiwan. A policy allowing short-term business travelers from countries with low or medium risks of COVID-19 infections to apply for shorter quarantine periods is also to resume that day. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that while the autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program is to be extended after the end of this month, special conditions for foreign nationals to enter Taiwan would be restored from Monday. Foreign nationals
CONTINUED VIGILANCE: People would still be required to wear masks at eight types of public spaces and border controls would continue, Chen Shih-chung told reporters The government’s autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program is to continue beyond Sunday, but eating and drinking on high-speed trains would be allowed from Monday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that while there were no new confirmed cases in Taiwan yesterday, the global COVID-19 situation remains serious, so the autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program would be extended beyond its Sunday deadline. “Border control measures, including requiring a negative polymerase chain reaction test result obtained within three days of boarding a plane to Taiwan, and undergoing quarantine in a
‘UNFRIENDLY’: COA Minister Chen Chi-chung said that Beijing probably imposed the sanction because the pineapple production season is about to start in Taiwan More than 99 percent of pineapples sold to China passed inspections, the government said yesterday, after China earlier in the day abruptly suspended imports of pineapples from the nation, which Taipei called an “unfriendly” move. From Monday, China is to stop importing pineapples from Taiwan, the Chinese General Administration of Customs said. The regulation is a normal measure for ensuring biosafety, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said in a news release later yesterday. Since last year, Chinese customs officials have repeatedly seized pineapples imported from Taiwan that carried “perilous organisms,” Ma said. Were the organisms to spread in China, they would
MORE RISK? Three Taiwanese family members were found to have the Brazilian variant, which CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo said might be more infectious From Wednesday, all travelers who have been in Brazil in the past 14 days are required to be quarantined at a centralized facility after arriving in Taiwan and undergo a COVID-19 test upon ending quarantine, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that starting from 12am on Wednesday, all travelers arriving from Brazil, including those who have transited through the country in the past 14 days, would have to stay at a centralized quarantine facility. “They will be tested for COVID-19 upon completing the 14-day quarantine, and they
RSS