Taiwan rejects Xi’s ‘one country, two systems’ call

Wed, Oct 02, 2019 page1

Taiwan rejects Xi’s ‘one country, two systems’ call
- By Chung Li-hua, Ann Maxon and William Hetherington / Staff reporters, with staff writer
Taiwan “resolutely” rejects Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula as a solution to cross-strait relations, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) again issued the call in his speech on China’s National Day, saying that Beijing would persist in its determination to “peacefully reunite [China and Taiwan] under ‘one country, two systems,’” and would “maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macau.”
China would “push for the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and continue to fight for the realization of the complete unification of the ‘motherland,’” Xi said.

The title and logo of the Mainland Affairs Council are pictured on a podium at the council’s Taipei offices in an undated photograph.

Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times

The “one country, two systems” formula is not suitable for Taiwan, the council said, calling instead on Beijing to implement democratic reforms to benefit its people.
The Republic of China (ROC) has been a sovereign nation for 108 years, and on Taiwan, it is has put democracy into practice and prospered, it said.

“Chinese authorities must realize what is an international fact: Taiwan has never for a second been a part of the People’s Republic of China,” it said.
By clinging to a one-party dictatorship for 70 years, the Chinese Communist Party has violated the democratic and human rights of its people, turning itself into a threat and a challenge to the nation’s sustained development, it said.
“Talking about ‘struggle’ and the ‘great rejuvenation and unification’ [of Chinese people] ... are just excuses for military expansion that threatens regional peace and stability,” it said.
The Taiwanese government will not waver in its protection of the nation’s sovereignty and democracy, and will never give in to threats or coercion, it said.
Democratic Progressive Party spokeswoman Hsueh Cheng-yi (薛呈懿) said that Taiwanese would never forget Xi’s threat of the use of force as an option to unify China and Taiwan.
The results of China’s “one country, two systems” can already be seen in Hong Kong, where public calls for democracy have been met with violent suppression, she said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said that it was regrettable that Xi appeared not to have noticed changes on both sides of the Taiwan Strait over the past nine months.
“The KMT does not support the ‘one country, two systems’ framework and disapproves of the way President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has attempted to equate it with the ‘1992 consensus,’” it said in a statement.
The KMT urges all parties to face the fact that the ROC and its Constitution exist, it said.
As a middle-of-the-road party, the KMT strictly adheres to the ROC Constitution in handling cross-strait affairs, it said.
In 1992, the KMT helped establish the cross-strait consensus of “one China, with each side having its own interpretation of what that means,” it said.
If the KMT is voted back into power, it would ensure peace and promote cross-strait exchanges based on the “1992 consensus,” as well as on its opposition to “one country, two systems” and Taiwanese independence, it said.
As the Double Ten National Day nears, the party urges all citizens to celebrate the day by displaying the ROC national flag, it said.
The New Power Party said that “it would be impossible for Taiwan to ever accept the ‘one country, two systems’ framework.”
Beijing should respect Taiwan’s sovereignty and stop its unrealistic fantasy and attempts at interference, the party said.
“Taiwan will not adopt the ‘one country, two systems’ with a country that has no respect for human rights,” NPP spokesman Chen Chih-ming (陳志明) said.
Taiwan will continue to work on establishing itself by championing human rights, freedom and rule law, he said.
Additional reporting by Yang Chun-hui
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