A meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is possible, even without her recognition of the so-called “1992 consensus,” former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良) said yesterday.
“As long as Xi is willing to meet with Tsai, there could be such a meeting,” Hsu said.
“It’s not the DPP that does not want to accept the 1992 consensus, but rather it is a large number of Taiwanese,” Hsu said at a seminar sponsored by the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation to mark the third anniversary of former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) historic summit with Xi in Singapore in 2015.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Describing Tsai as an elite rather than a staunch supporter of Taiwanese independence, Hsu said that the DPP would have gone down if it had accepted the “1992 consensus,” given that the party had long refused to recognize the agreement.
“If the DPP had been forced to accept the consensus after it came to power, it would have crashed,” Hsu said.
The “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 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Ma upheld the “consensus” as the basis of exchanges between Taiwan and China during his presidency from 2008 to 2016.
Since Tsai came to power in May 2016, cross-strait relations have soured because of her refusal to openly recognize it.
Hsu said that the DPP should not be blamed for the stalemate in cross-strait relations, but rather China should be held responsible considering its constant bullying of Taiwan over many years.
“China has spared no effort to bully Taiwan, and now is being bullied by the US,” Hsu said, adding that China should reflect on its own behavior or risk global isolation.
Also at the seminar, former DPP legislator Hong Chi-chang (洪奇昌) said there was a string of conditions from 2008 to 2015 that eventually led to the Ma-Xi meeting.
“In the same way, a Tsai-Xi meeting could be held,” he said.
Speaking after the closing ceremony of the two-day seminar, Ma said the chances of a meeting between Tsai and Xi were slim, given that the two sides are sharply divided and have no common ground.
Ma suggested that Taiwan should “stick to the Constitution” when deciding a course of action.
“It is the best direction and I will not rule out the possibility of reunification of the two sides,” he said.
However, “there is no timetable for unification and it would require public consensus on when and how the two sides should make such a move,” he said.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
RSS