Academics on Saturday offered different takes on President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) Double Ten National Day address, with some praising her efforts to maintain cross-strait stability, while others remained skeptical on whether it was enough to placate Beijing.
Tsai, who said she was willing to have a “meaningful dialogue” with the leadership of Beijing, sent a message that showed she wanted to maintain peaceful Taiwan-China relations, so long as parity and dignity are assured, said Chao Chun-shan (趙春山), a professor emeritus at the Institute of China Studies at Tamkang University in Taipei.
Tsai also exercised restraint in not highlighting growing Taiwan-US relations in her speech, to avoid angering Beijing, he added.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Tsai might want to create opportunities for peaceful dialogue with Beijing, evident in her echoing of China’s video message to the UN General Assembly that Beijing would never seek hegemony, expansion or a sphere of influence, Tamkang University Graduate Institute of China Studies associate professor Chang Wu-ueh (張五岳) said.
Tsai said in her speech that she is aware of China’s remarks and that “as countries in the region and around the world are now concerned about China’s expanding hegemony, we hope this is the beginning of genuine change.”
However, one Chinese academic disagreed, saying that Tsai had missed the point.
Liu Guosheng (劉國深), a cross-strait relations expert at Xiamen University, said that Tsai’s use of the words “hegemony” and “concerned” appeared to him as indirect rebukes of China.
Her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration must recognize, with sincerity and courage, that “both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same country,” so that it might understand Beijing’s position, he said.
Tamkang University strategic studies professor Alexander Huang (黃介正) said that Tsai did not show weakness or attempt to cozy up to China in her speech, but expressed her intention to hold healthy conversations with Beijing and maintain peaceful ties.
The two sides must accumulate goodwill and restore mutual trust, and one of the priorities at this stage is refraining from making meaningless and provocative comments toward each other, he said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) said in a statement later on Saturday that Tsai’s address showed Taiwan’s continued hostility.
Only by returning to the so-called “1992 consensus” could there be mutual dialogue and improvement in ties, Zhu 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 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.
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