Several members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Reform Committee’s youth participation task force yesterday voiced their support for recommendations made by the committee’s cross-strait narrative task force and said they were not abandoning the “1992 consensus.”
The so-called “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 of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
The KMT’s reform committee, of which KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) is the general convener, is divided into four task forces focused on cross-strait narrative, organizational reform, youth participation and financial stability.
Photo: CNA
On Friday last week, the groups held their first joint meeting, during which the cross-strait narrative task force proposed “four pillars”: insisting on the sovereignty of the Republic of China (ROC); safeguarding freedom, democracy and human rights; prioritizing the safeguarding of Taiwan’s security; and creating a win-win situation and “shared prosperity.”
Speaking outside the KMT headquarters in Taipei yesterday, Taichung City Councilor Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋), a member of the youth participation task force, said that while some people who rely on history for a “sense of presence” might feel that their contributions are being erased, the committee was not erasing the “1992 consensus,” but rather hoped to add to the KMT’s narrative.
Lin Hsing-er (林杏兒), head of the KMT Department of National Youth Affairs and a member of the youth participation task force, said that young people are unfamiliar with the “1992 consensus.”
She compared the “consensus” to a point-and-shoot camera, saying it was no longer “in fashion.”
The KMT has never removed the “consensus” from its discourse, she said, but it should be repackaged into something that young people can understand.
Another member of the youth participation task force, Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯), said that while some people question whether the KMT’s cross-strait narrative is moving closer to that of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the reverse was true.
She said that the KMT should place its focus not on whether or not it wants the “1992 consensus,” but rather on the challenges the “consensus” faces and supervision of the ruling DPP.
Members of the youth participation task force also expressed their support for fellow member Kaohsiung City Councilor Jane Lee (李眉蓁), who on Tuesday was named the party’s candidate in the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election to be held on Aug. 15.
In related developments, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday on Facebook called on President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to acknowledge the “1992 consensus” to prevent the two sides of the Taiwan Strait from going to war.
Ma also called on Chinese authorities to stop menacing Taiwan with force.
Additional reporting by CNA
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