President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has reiterated her proposal that Taipei and Beijing create a new model to handle cross-strait relations, which have been at a standstill since her inauguration in May last year.
Taiwan hopes that both sides can begin to think about the matter after the conclusion of the Chinese Communist Party’s 19th National Congress, at which the party’s new leadership is to be elected, Tsai said in an interview with the Central News Agency published yesterday.
The week-long congress is scheduled to begin on Oct. 18.
Photo: CNA
The two sides of the Taiwan Strait have for many years dealt with their ties based on an established model and guidelines, which to a certain extent have helped maintain cross-strait stability, Tsai said.
However, in view of new international situations, they should consider whether there is a need to examine such old practices and mindsets, she said.
“If we keep sticking to these past practices and ways of thinking, it will probably be very hard for us to deal with the volatile regional situations in Asia,” Tsai said.
Unhappy that Tsai’s government has refused to recognize the so-called “1992 consensus,” Beijing has suspended official dialogue with Taipei since she took office.
The “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 Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is only “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Beijing has insisted that the Tsai administration explicitly accept the “1992 consensus” — which in effect says that Taiwan is part of China — as the political foundation for the continuation of relatively warm relations under her predecessor, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
However, Tsai has only been willing to say that she respects the historical fact that cross-strait talks took place and that some understanding was reached.
Both sides have made considerable efforts to maintain cross-strait stability over the past 16 months, Tsai said, but added that on major political issues, “they feel we have not reached their expectations, but we have already shown the utmost goodwill.”
She reiterated that the viewpoints outlined in her inaugural address would remain her principles in dealing with cross-strait ties.
In her inauguration speech, Tsai promised that her administration would work to maintain the existing mechanisms for dialogue and communication across the Taiwan Strait and would conduct cross-strait affairs in accordance with the Republic of China Constitution, the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) and other relevant legislation.
She also recognized that “there was joint acknowledgement of setting aside differences to seek common ground” in the 1992 talks between representatives of Taipei and Beijing.
In the interview, Tsai said she did not see Premier William Lai’s (賴清德) comments in open support for Taiwanese independence at the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday last week as affecting cross-strait relations.
Lai is fully aware of the government’s overall policy goals and understands very well “what the limits are,” she said.
Regarding the nation’s military readiness, Tsai said the government would increase its defense spending gradually over the next few years to provide the armed forces with stable financial resources to support efforts to develop a plan to increase the nation’s combat capacity in the next decade.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or