The deadlock in cross-strait relations can be solved if Taiwan abides by the "1992 Consensus," Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential hopeful Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma also restated his proposal that Taiwan and China sign a truce and said he would work toward that goal if elected.
The nation should only sign such a truce if China removes all missiles targeted at Taiwan, Ma said in a speech at the Society of Strategic Studies in Taipei yesterday.
PHOTO: CNA
Ma told the audience that China posed a threat, but was also a door to new opportunities, and said it was therefore crucial for Taiwan to find a balance between the two.
"With more than 1,000 missiles aimed at Taiwan and warplanes along the coast, China is certainly a threat ... on the other hand, it also provides us with unlimited opportunities," Ma said.
China's growing economy represents unlimited opportunities to Taiwan, he said, adding that in the last year, business transactions between Taiwan and China amounted to a total of US$100 billion.
"We have to minimize threats and maximize opportunities, which cannot be achieved through conflict" he said.
The first step in avoiding conflicts, Ma said, was to recognize the "1992 Consensus."
"We have to actively work to improve our relationship with China ... and our future negotiations with China. We cannot break the 1992 Consensus," Ma said.
The KMT says that, at landmark talks held between Taipei and Beijing in Hong Kong in 1992 -- when the KMT was in power -- the two sides agreed to respect each other's interpretations of the "one China" principle.
This agreement has been termed the "1992 consensus" by the party.
However, Beijing says that Taiwan and China both agreed to adhere to the "one China" principle in 1992 and insists that Taiwan accept the principle as a condition for resuming cross-strait talks.
The Democratic Progressive Party insists that the "1992 consensus" does not exist.
February last year, KMT Legislator Su Chi (蘇起), then Mainland Affairs Council chairman, admitted that he created the term in 2000, shortly before President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was inaugurated, with the aim of giving the two sides of the Taiwan Strait a "basis for dialogue."
Ma yesterday said that Taiwan's recognition of the "1992 Consensus" would increase regional stability and encourage business developments.
"Under the concept [of the 1992 Consensus] ... the two sides can sign a truce valid for decades at the least, so that Taiwan and China can continue to increase relations in peace," he said.
On the issue of the economy, Ma said he wanted to pursue a laissez-faire policy to increase cross-strait exchanges in trade, tourism, and investments, until "both sides eventually comprise a common market."
Additional reporting by CNA
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS