Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman-elect Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday said he hopes the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will seek common ground and respect differences on the basis of the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence.
Chu made the remarks in response to a congratulatory letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) written in his capacity as general secretary of the CCP Central Committee on the occasion of Chu’s election as KMT chairman on Saturday.
In the recent past, the KMT and the CCP had good interactions, bolstered cooperation and promoted the peaceful development of cross-strait relations based on the common political basis of adhering to the “1992 consensus” and opposing Taiwanese independence, Xi said in his letter, according to a copy released by the KMT.
Photo: CNA
“At present, the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim,” Xi wrote, calling for unity among “all Zhonghua (中華) sons and daughters” and expressing the hope that the two parties will work together to “seek peace for the Taiwan Strait, seek reunification for the country and seek rejuvenation for the nation.”
For more than 30 years, there had been good progress in exchanges and cooperation at all levels of cross-strait relations due to the continued efforts of the KMT and the CCP, Chu said in his response, a copy provided by the KMT showed.
However, in the past few years, under the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) administration, a “desinicization” and “anti-China” policy has been adopted, changing the “status quo” across the Strait, and resulting in a precarious situation and trepidation among people on both sides, he wrote.
Chu said he hopes that the KMT and the CCP will, on the basis of the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence, seek common ground and respect differences, increase mutual trust, and bolster exchanges and cooperation so that the peaceful development of cross-strait relations can continue.
Chu is expected to be sworn in as KMT chairman on the same day as the party’s National Congress, which is scheduled to convene on Oct. 30, according to the KMT’s charter.
A two-term New Taipei City mayor, Chu won Saturday’s chairperson election with 85,164, or 45.78 percent, of the 186,018 valid votes cast by eligible KMT members, results released by the party’s Central Election Supervision Committee showed.
In January 2015, Chu was elected KMT chairman in an unopposed by-election, but he resigned one year later over the party’s losses in the Jan. 16, 2016, presidential and legislative elections, in which he was the KMT’s presidential candidate.
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 government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
RSS