Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday echoed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) position on cross-strait ties, reiterating that cross-strait relations should be based on the so-called “1992 consensus.”
Wu stressed at a KMT Central Standing Committee meeting the importance of the framework in rebuilding rapport with China, hours after Xi renewed calls at the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 19th National Congress for Taipei to adhere to the “1992 consensus,” which he said embodies the spirit of the “one China” principle.
However, Xi did not mention the “one China, different interpretations” aspect of the “1992 consensus,” which the KMT has for decades maintained is a core element of the framework.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“Cross-strait relations have become stagnant, and Beijing has not responded to Taiwan’s efforts to communicate,” Wu said. “The ‘1992 consensus’ under the ‘one China, different interpretations’ framework is a historical fact that has helped to maintain peaceful and stable cross-strait development, and it cannot be eradicated or tampered with by either party.”
“Both sides of the Taiwan Strait adhere to the ‘one China’ principle. However, the two sides agreed to make their own interpretation of what that means verbally,” he said.
Since former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in 2008, Taipei and Beijing have collaborated peacefully and stably on the basis of the “1992 consensus” to ink 23 bilateral agreements, while the Taiwan Strait has become a peaceful region, Wu said.
The “1992 consensus” under the “one China, different interpretations” framework maintains the sovereignty and dignity of the Republic of China, and ensures that both sides of the Taiwan Strait adhere to the “one China” principle, which prohibits notions of “two Chinas,” “one China and one Taiwan” and Taiwanese independence, he added.
Cross-strait relations have come to a standstill due to Beijing’s unwillingness to communicate with the Democratic Progressive Party administration, causing losses to businesses, Wu said.
Earlier in the day, the KMT sent a congratulatory letter to the CCP, wishing it success at the congress, which began yesterday.
In the letter, which was sent to the CCP on Tuesday and released to the media yesterday, the KMT called on Beijing to continue collaborating with the KMT and building mutual trust based on the “1992 consensus” to maintain regional stability and peaceful cross-strait development.
The two sides of the Taiwan Strait have conducted interactions for 30 years and have made considerable achievements, starting win-win cooperation and improving the well-being of Taiwanese and Chinese, the letter said.
The so-called “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the CCP that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” which each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced a bill to enhance cooperation with Taiwan on drone development and to reduce reliance on supply chains linked to China. The proposed Blue Skies for Taiwan Act of 2026 was introduced by Republican US senators Ted Cruz and John Curtis, and Democratic US senators Jeff Merkley and Andy Kim. The legislation seeks to ease constraints on Taiwan-US cooperation in uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), including dependence on China-sourced components, limited access to capital and regulatory barriers under US export controls, a news release issued by Cruz on Wednesday said. The bill would establish a "Blue UAS
RSS