Lawmakers and academics yesterday called for constitutional reform to free Taiwan from the shackles of the “one China” framework and push for “normalization” of the nation, while rejecting the feasibility of the so-called “1992 consensus” that they said has been forced upon president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) by Beijing and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Amid growing pressure from China for Tsai to toe Beijing’s line, non-governmental organization the Taiwan Association of University Professors invited New Power Party (NPP) Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and several academics to speak at a forum in Taipei yesterday on cross-strait relations.
“When Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] members speak of the ‘one China’ principle, they often also mention Article 11 of the Additional Articles of the Republic of China [ROC] Constitution, which was passed by the now-defunct National Assembly in 1991 and thus lacks democratic legitimacy,” Huang said at the forum.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The article in question, which applies the formula of “one country, two areas” to cross-strait relations, states: “Rights and obligations between the people of the Chinese mainland area and those of the free area [Taiwan], and the disposition of other related affairs may be specified by law.”
Huang said that based on the concept that a nation’s sovereignty rightly belongs to its people, it is self-evident that Taiwan and China are two separate sovereign nations that have simply been put in unfair circumstances.
Citing the need to “normalize” Taiwan, Huang said the goal requires collective efforts and step-by-step plans, starting with promulgation of an act governing the signing of cross-strait agreements, followed by the normalization of society, the economy and then the constitutional system.
“We should create a Taiwan-centric education system to replace the longstanding China-oriented curriculum … while bidding farewell to the nation’s authoritarian legacy. In terms of the economy, the new Democratic Progressive Party government must expand domestic demand and steer Taiwan toward the world, instead of relying solely on China,” Huang said.
He said the final step is to engineer bottom-up constitutional reform to eradicate the “one country, two areas” formula and to ensure better division of labor among different government agencies.
While putting aside a long-term dispute over the existence of the “1992 consensus,” Taiwan Thinktank deputy chief executive Lai I-chung (賴怡忠) said it is bizarre to use a “consensus” that dates back 24 years to define current cross-strait relations.
“In addition, despite Ma’s acknowledgement of the ‘1992 consensus’ over the past eight years, China has never relinquished its efforts to push for the ‘one China’ principle,” Lai said.
Past events indicated that the “consensus” is not conducive to Taiwan in terms of the economy, politics and cross-strait stability, Lai said, citing an op-ed piece published by Chinese state-run newspaper the Global Times in October 2014, which called Ma a “local chieftain,” and China’s unilateral designation of the M503 air route in January last year, despite its threat to Taiwan’s national security.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Chen Mu-min (陳牧民), chairman of the Graduate Institute of International Politics at National Chung Hsing University, said the foreign policies of both Ma and former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) were a failure, with the former clinging to the illusion that cross-strait rapprochement would increase Taiwan’s international space and the latter seeking to rectify the name of Taiwan in the international arena at the cost of cross-strait ties.
“Although it would be hard for Tsai to find a middle ground between these two policies, her administration should try to create an international environment more amicable for Taiwan, increase the nation’s sway over the international community through its ‘soft power,’ and expand the international horizons of Taiwanese,” Chen Mu-min said.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
RSS