Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday said that the KMT could sign a peace treaty with China if it returns to the Presidential Office after next year’s general elections.
Wu made the comments in an interview on morning radio show UFO Breakfast hosted by Tang Hsiang-lung (唐湘龍).
Earlier in the interview, Wu told Tang that the National Unification Guidelines, the implementation of which was suspended by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), could be reactivated by the KMT.
Photo: CNA
Tang then asked: “If the KMT is again the ruling party after next year’s elections, would and should it usher in a kind of final cross-strait peace treaty?”
“[Former minister of culture] Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) recently wrote that we have waited seven decades for an end to the war,” Tang said. “In a sense, the Chinese Civil War has not ended, because there has been no final peace treaty. Do you think that there should be such a peace treaty?”
Wu said that, according to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), only the government or its authorized institutions can negotiate agreements with China.
“If the KMT has the opportunity to rule again, then we would have met the conditions stipulated by the law,” Wu said.
“Assuming talks between the two sides are successful, a KMT government would be within its rights to sign a cross-strait peace treaty,” he said.
Asked if the party needs to change its cross-strait policy, Wu replied in the negative, saying that the KMT would not shift its position on the so-called “1992 consensus,” which he credited for “years of peace and stability” across the Taiwan Strait.
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 Communist Party that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Wu repeatedly refused to answer whether he plans to run for president next year, saying only that he has “a decision to make,” for which he did “not feel certain at present.”
Party unity, the chances of winning and fundraising are issues that he must consider before entertaining thoughts of a run for the presidency, he said.
The public would know his answer when registration for the KMT primary closes in May, Wu said, adding that he might decide not to run.
Separately yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Johnny Lin (林琮盛) said that “Wu’s so-called cross-strait peace treaty cannot guarantee peace; Taiwan’s sovereignty is the only foundation for building peace and stability.”
“The DPP stands fast in the defense of the sovereign independence of the Republic of China, Taiwan and the values of freedom, democracy and human rights,” he said.
Additional reporting by Su Fun-her
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