Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) recently said in an exclusive interview with The Economist that she considers peaceful unification with China “premature,” the party said today.
She also said that she hopes to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in the first half of the year to strive for commitment to peace, the KMT said in a statement.
In the interview on Tuesday last week, Cheng talked about cross-strait peace, national identity, national defense and security, US-China relations and her political career, the party said.
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
The KMT’s most important task for the next three to five years is to create peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, the party quoted Cheng as saying in the interview.
She said she hopes for exchanges and dialogue with China, including meeting Xi as she advocates for cross-strait reconciliation.
Communication and interaction at systematic levels could reduce the risk of misjudgement and avoid conflicts and escalation, she said.
The two sides must absolutely prevent war or armed conflict from occurring, as it would bring unimaginable and catastrophic consequences, she said.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) does not accept the “1992 consensus” and promotes a de facto “two states” theory, which has led to increasingly confrontational cross-strait relations in the past decade, she said.
Embracing the “1992 consensus” would “significantly reduce the likelihood of military confrontation,” Cheng 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 Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Asked in the interview about Beijing’s high expectations for peaceful unification, she called herself a pragmatic politician.
The most important task is to establish a perpetual peace framework, Chen said, adding that she could accept it if it is also acceptable to people on both sides of the Strait.
However, it is “premature” to discuss the matter, she said.
Rational dialogue and mutual understanding between China and the US could promote regional peace and stability, she said, adding that she hopes for reconciliation between the two countries.
She said she hopes it is not a zero sum game but a win-win situation, adding that from the perspective of Taiwan, China has already become an indispensable market.
She further shared concerns that the US would abandon Taiwan, pointing to a US arms shipment backlog of US$20 billion, while Washington seeks to relocate key industries, including semiconductor manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, to the US.
Commenting on national defense and security, Cheng said the main challenge for Taiwan’s national defense efforts is a shortage of professional career military personnel, not a lack of funding.
Taiwan buys aircraft and artillery, but lacks the trained professionals required to operate them, she said.
Regarding the issue of identity, Cheng said that under the provisions of the Constitution, “we are also so-called Chinese.”
Changes in identity for the Taiwanese people are a result of political manipulation, she said, adding that before she turned 30, the vast majority of people identified as Chinese, though the figure has since rapidly declined.
The concept of Taiwan and China should be inclusive but not mutually exclusive, she said, adding that it is defined by culture, history and bloodlines, with only a small part hinging on modern ideas of sovereignty.
For the past 30 years, the DPP has continuously promoted de-Sinicization, she said.
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