Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) was inaugurated yesterday during the party’s 20th National Congress in Taichung, and the party’s platform was amended to rescind a proposal to seek a peace treaty with China.
In his inaugural address, the former vice president stressed the so-called “1992 consensus” and pledged to reconnect the party with the nation’s young people and boost the economy to revive the party.
He reiterated the “original wording” of the “1992 consensus”: that “both sides of the Taiwan Strait should adhere to the ‘one China’ principle, but both sides agree to make its own interpretation of what that means in oral form.”
Photo: CNA
“On the basis of the 1992 consensus,’ we will continue to oppose Taiwanese independence and promote Chinese culture to facilitate reconciliation and mutual respect between two sides of the Taiwan Strait,” Wu said.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) said in 2006 that he had made up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration inked 23 bilateral agreements with China due to its adherence to the consensus, Wu said.
Wu’s speech marks a return to the KMT’s long-standing “one China, different interpretations” framework after former KMT chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) favored a pro-unification “one China, same interpretation” framework.
However, Hung criticized the new amendment, saying that it “dilutes the ‘one China’ principle and stresses ‘different interpretations,’” which she feared would be interpreted by Beijing as an announcement of “Republic of China [ROC] independence” — an idea promoting an independent Taiwan under the ROC framework.
The “1992 consensus” underlines both the “one China” principle and unification, and Wu’s platform only deals with the former part without advancing cross-strait relations to the “deep-water zone,” she said.
The national congress also approved an amendment to the party platform drafted by Wu to revoke a proposal to negotiate a peace agreement with China to end hostilities that Hung pushed through to the party platform last year.
The KMT’s platform now stresses the “different interpretations” framework while professing a “firm opposition to Taiwanese independence” to “maintain the status quo of ‘no unification,’ ‘no independence’ and ‘no war’” to achieve “peaceful and stable development in cross-strait relations.”
The platform also vows to build an honest and efficient government, develop the economy and equal distribution of wealth, create a just and harmonious society, build a sustainable environment and ensure peace in cross-strait relations.
Wu also apologized for the landslide defeat the KMT suffered in last year’s general elections, in which the party lost both the presidency and the legislative majority to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for the first time.
To resuscitate the KMT, Wu promised to reconnect with the youth and put forward economic policies.
The KMT is to recruit, train and promote younger party members while supporting social campaigns launched by young people, while a volunteer service unit consisting of younger KMT members is to be organized to connect with voters in urban, rural and remote areas.
Wu asked officials from the municipalities governed by the KMT to improve local business environments to attract investments and create jobs.
While disunity between KMT headquarters and its caucus marked Hung’s term, Wu called for a closer collaboration between the party’s sub-organizations, with the KMT caucus asked to take advice from local chapters and think tanks.
The KMT has to gain ground in next year’s mayoral and councilor elections — the first major test of the party since last year’s devastating defeat — if it wants to regain the presidency and legislative majority in the 2020 general elections, Wu said.
The new KMT leader also criticized the DPP government for the cross-strait deadlock, what he called a divisive push for pension reform, the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program budget and the exodus of Taiwanese businesses and workers.
The DPP administration, during the course of pension reform, has provoked conflict along occupational lines, with public employees bearing the brunt of pension reform, he said.
The four-year, NT$420 billion (US$13.8 billion) development project could not solve the shortages in power, water, workforce and development, but aims to disperse pork-barrel projects to local political operatives, he said.
Wu vowed to lead the KMT to prosperity and reform to solve a variety of dilemmas the nation is facing.
In other developments at the congress, KMT vice chairmen Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) were officially sworn for new terms.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
‘ONE BRIDGE’: The US president-elect met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 in Florida and the two discussed a potential Taiwan-China conflict’s implications for world peace US president-elect Donald Trump has described Taiwan as “a major issue for world peace” during a meeting with Akie Abe, the widow of late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted sources as saying in a report yesterday. Trump met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two discussed the Russo-Ukrainian war and the situation in the Taiwan Strait. During the meeting, Trump spoke on the implications for world peace of a potential Taiwan-China conflict, which “indicated his administration’s stance of placing importance on dealing with the situation in
QUICK LOOK: The amendments include stricter recall requirements and Constitutional Court procedures, as well as a big increase in local governments’ budgets Portions of controversial amendments to tighten requirements for recalling officials and Constitutional Court procedures were passed by opposition lawmakers yesterday following clashes between lawmakers in the morning, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members tried to block Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from entering the chamber. Parts of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed the third reading yesterday. The legislature was still voting on various amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as of press time last night, after the session was extended to midnight. Amendments to Article 4
ALLIANCE: Washington continues to implement its policy of normalizing arms sales to Taiwan and helps enhance its defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US President Joe Biden on Friday agreed to provide US$571.3 million in defense support for Taiwan, the White House said, while the US State Department approved the potential sale of US$265 million in military equipment. Biden had delegated to the secretary of state the authority “to direct the drawdown of up to US$571.3 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan,” the White House said in a statement. However, it did not provide specific details about this latest package, which was the third of its kind to
RSS