The "one China, with each side having its own interpretation" consensus reached in 1992 was the first-ever cross-strait political compromise following more than 40 years of hostility, a former Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official said yesterday.
Su Chi (蘇起), a former MAC chairman, made the remarks at a ceremony marking the launch of a book on the consensus -- published by the KMT's think tank, the National Development Foundation. The book was compiled by Su and Cheng An-kuo (鄭安國), a former Taiwan representative to Hong Kong, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the agreement.
Noting that the "1992 consensus" -- a verbal agreement that said that both the PRC and Taiwan are "part of China" despite their contention over the definition of "China" -- carries profound historic meaning, Su said it was regrettable that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) openly denounced this consensus last year to pave the way for his "one country on each side" declaration this August.
Su said Chen's attempt to set a new tone and new terms for cross-strait talks is understandable.
"But is it wise to reach that goal at the expense of a hard-won past agreement?" he asked.
Su said that although the word "consensus" is not a legal term, it carries a certain "politically binding force."
China mentioned this consensus for the first time in 1995 when the two sides celebrated the second anniversary of a historic high-level tete-a-tete in Singapore commonly known as the "Koo-Wang talks (
According to Su, the consensus was reached through exchanges of letters and faxed messages between the two sides from 1990 through 1992, as well as through verbal explanations by the two sides.
Su further said although the words "one China, separate definitions" didn't appear in any official documents, they exactly summed up the spirit of the "1992 consensus."
Su admitted that Taiwan and China have different explanations of the consensus. "Taiwan stresses parity in cross-strait relations, while mainland China tends to downgrade Taiwan to the provincial level under its jurisdiction," he noted.
Nevertheless, Su said, the two sides have a shared stance on the "one China" principle under the "1992 consensus."
"It was under this common ground that the two sides could have held several rounds of dialogue in the 1990s as China thought that Taiwan would not promote Taiwan independence," Su said.
The newly published book gives a detailed account of the historical background of the "1992 consensus." The book contains excerpts of critical remarks by officials from both sides over the past decade.
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