The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday criticized President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for making statements that it said could put the nation’s development at risk.
The KMT in a statement issued yesterday said it was “disappointed” that Tsai told the Washington Post in an interview that it is not likely that “the government of Taiwan would accept a deadline for conditions [the so-called ‘1992 consensus’] that are against the will of the people.”
How Tsai framed her response to a question about the “consensus” — a supposed understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means — does not help in trying to rebuild the cross-strait relationship, the KMT said.
“The ‘1992 consensus’ is a common acknowledgment that has been the bedrock of cross-strait stability in the past eight years,” it said, adding that if the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) does not buy into the consensus, it should put forward a new policy that is “practical, feasible and capable of continuing the peaceful cross-strait ‘status quo.’”
The KMT added that Tsai’s remarks concerning cross-strait relations and developments should be based on boosting the nation’s development.
“[Tsai] should not make statements that might hurt the nation’s development just to curry favor with a particular political party’s supporters,” the KMT said.
“It is undeniable that without the ‘1992 consensus,’ communications between the Mainland Affairs Council and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, and those between the Straits Exchange Foundation and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits have stalled. While some kind of communication mechanism can be launched when emergencies and major events happen, people’s livelihood’s could be at risk if policy-related communication between the two sides fails to advance,” it said.
The party accused Tsai and the DPP of changing the cross-strait “status quo” and causing it to deteriorate by their refusal to endorse the consensus.
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