A Chinese government spokeswoman reiterated on Wednesday in Beijing that China views the so-called “1992 consensus” as the bedrock of cross-strait talks.
Fan Liqing (范麗青), spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office, told a press conference that denial or repudiation of the “1992 consensus” and insistence on “Taiwan independence” under the “one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait” claim would impede negotiations between the two sides and lead to unrest across the Taiwan Strait.
The consensus is the political basis for cross-strait talks and negotiations, Fan said, adding that the consensus was reached by the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and Straits Exchange Foundation.
She was responding to questions on whether China would insist on the consensus as the basis for developing cross-strait relations if Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) were elected president in January next year.
Her remarks came as Tsai reiterated, during a visit to the US, her commitment to seeking a “Taiwan consensus” among the people in Taiwan as the basis for negotiations with China.
Tsai said in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington on Tuesday that a “Taiwan consensus” would serve as a strong foundation for talks between the two sides.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) defines the “1992 consensus” as an agreement in which it interprets “one China” as the Republic of China on Taiwan, while Beijing defines “one China” as the People’s Republic of China.
However, US cables released by WikiLeaks on Aug. 30 show that Chinese officials and academics have a different understanding on what constitutes the consensus, with Taiwan Affairs Office Director Wang Yi (王毅) quoted in the cables as saying that the consensus means “that both sides essentially accept there is only one China.”
When asked whether China would welcome a visit by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), and under what designation would China accept such as visit, Fan said that the specific details would depend on the development of relations between the two sides.
The Chinese attitude is to “let nature take its course,” she said.
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