China’s understanding of the so-called “1992 consensus” leaves no room for the Republic of China (ROC), Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after Beijing criticized comments on the issue by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫).
Chu on Monday told the Brookings Institution in the US — where he is leading a delegation of KMT officials on an 11-day tour — that the party’s “1992 consensus” was a “non-consensus consensus” and an example of “constructive ambiguity.”
“We are mislabeled by some people. Some media say we are a pro-China party. It is totally wrong. We are a pro-US party, forever,” Chu said in a keynote speech at the Washington-based institute.
Photo: CNA
The “1992 consensus” — a term former MAC 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.
Asked about the comments yesterday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) told a regular news briefing in Beijing that “willful distortions of the 1992 consensus will not be tolerated.”
“Any political party, group or individual on the island seeking to maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait must ... keep a clear head, stay on the correct path and be on the right side of history,” Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.
“Taiwan is a part of China. Cross-strait affairs is a family matter for Chinese compatriots on both sides and it should be handled by the family without outside meddling,” he said.
The KMT should “stay on the correct path,” Ma added in a rebuke of Chu’s visit to the US.
Chiu told a news conference in Taipei that Ma “has made plain that the communists see no difference between the 1992 consensus and accepting its one China principle.”
“This formula does not allow any space for the Republic of China to exist. For that reason, it was rejected by the overwhelming majority of Taiwanese,” he said.
Taiwanese know that China uses the “1992 consensus” and the “one China” principle as instruments to further its so-called unification of Taiwan, he said, adding that Taipei firmly opposes any infringement of the nation’s sovereignty.
“We urge Beijing to give up the political framework it seeks to impose on Taiwan, abandon the use of armed threats and acknowledge the reality that the ROC exists,” he said.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS