China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) Chairman Chang An-le (張安樂), also known as “White Wolf,” yesterday led hundreds of people to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in Taipei, calling on president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to accept the so-called “1992 consensus.”
A majority of the crowd wore black vests with red collars and imprinted with the names of the CUPP’s so-called “party branches,” which are associated with martial arts institutions. They rallied outside the DPP headquarters in the afternoon.
Chang called on Tsai to accept the “1992 consensus” in order to protect “Taiwan’s happiness,” and added that the Chinese market would be open to Taiwan only if the “1992 consensus” is accepted.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
“There would be no service trade agreement or trade in goods agreement [with China] without the ‘1992 consensus;’ I hope [Tsai] hears us: we hope that the good foundation established in the past eight years is not destroyed in one night,” he said.
While the “1992 consensus” and cross-strait peace were highlighted during the event, the party’s Facebook page and news release for the event both said that the “1992 consensus” and the “one China, same interpretation” principle should be “firmly guarded in order to guarantee Taiwan’s happiness and keep war at bay.”
Some people held placards that read, “One China across the Strait for peaceful development,” while others carried the People’s Republic of China flag.
New Party spokesman Wang Ping-chung (王炳忠) said “political scams” are to be opposed.
“If the new government wishes for Taiwan’s [formal] independence, it should say it clearly and loudly; if it wishes to maintain the ‘status quo,’ it should face the ‘1992 consensus’ squarely rather than only paying lip service,” Wang said.
He said that demonstrations would not be restricted to pro-unification in the future, but also support for Taiwan’s de jure independence.
An Internet user wrote about the rally on the Professional Technology Temple (PTT) — a popular bulletin board Web site — alleging that he was paid NT$500 for showing up at the rally and said that many that attended were likewise paid, attaching photographs of the event showing uniform vest embroidered with the name of the CUPP. Some questioned the authenticity of the post.
The so-called “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (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.
Chang in an interview with Chinese media Phoenix Satellite Television that aired on Sunday said that there are only two choices for Taiwan: “One country, two systems” or military takeover and control [by the Chinese government]; and it would be better to have the former rather than the latter.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
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