The so-called “1992 consensus” remains a political foundation on which both sides of the Taiwan Strait can hold dialogue in the best interests of Taiwanese, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday, citing as evidence his just-concluded visit to China.
Ma was met at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport upon his return after 12 days in China by supporters, including Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, and protesters.
The 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign said that Ma’s trip used tomb-sweeping as an excuse to curry favor with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Ma curried favor with a nation threatening Taiwan with a possible invasion, it said.
Taiwan Statebuilding Party Chairman Wang Hsing-huan (王興煥) said that Ma’s comments on the “consensus” betrayed the martyrs who fought to uphold democracy in Taiwan, the mainstream opinion of Taiwanese and other countries that speak out against China.
The so-called “1992 consensus,” a term that 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 Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Ma, who has no official position in the KMT, has also been criticized for a comment during a speech at Hunan University on Sunday.
Ma said in the speech that the Constitution says “our nation is divided into two parts: the Taiwan area and the mainland area. Both are the ROC [Republic of China], both are China.”
While transiting in California on her return from Central America, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told reporters that Ma’s Constitution comment was better suited to the 1970s.
“From our current situation, the fact is quite clear, that is, the ROC and the People’s Republic of China do not belong to one another,” Tsai said.
The Taiwan New Constitution group also criticized Ma, saying that the Constitution was Chinese in origin and imposed by Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石).
The group urged the government to face the potential danger that such views pose to Taiwanese and called for the government to allow them to draft their own constitution.
Democratic Progressive Party spokesman Chang Chih-hao (張志豪) said that Ma’s comments and tacit agreement with Beijing’s stance was the laughing stock of the international community, adding that it was not only self-belittling, but lent credence to Beijing’s “one China” principle.
At a news conference after Ma’s return yesterday, KMT Mainland Affairs Department head Lin Chu-chia (林祖嘉) said that Ma had mentioned “the ROC” four times and “president” three times when speaking in China, which was not an easy task.
Ma’s visit conveyed to China Taiwan’s opinions and upheld national dignity during peaceful interactions, Lin said.
However, Taiwan Thinktank deputy executive director-general Doong Sy-chi (董思齊) said that Ma’s comments mixed too many concepts and went against the international consensus on their definitions, adding that Tsai’s comment more closely reflected the truth of current affairs.
Meanwhile, Cross-Strait Policy Association researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said that Beijing had snubbed Ma by only assigning Song Tao (宋濤), director of Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, to accompany him.
The snub was especially glaring as KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Xia (夏立言) had met with CCP politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) during his visit in August last year, Wu said.
Beijing only used Ma’s visit to draw attention away from Tsai’s stopovers in the US, he said.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua, Wang Chien-hao, Chen Cheng-yu, Shih Hsiao-kuang and Lin Hsin-han
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