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.
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