The so-called “1992 consensus” has laid the foundation for negotiations between Taiwan and China, and this is something that both sides should cherish, a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official said.
The council issued the statement after China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) said that China’s economic policy toward Taiwan is based on a political premise that the two sides uphold the “1992 consensus” and are opposed to the idea of Taiwan’s independence.
“Without opposition to Taiwan’s independence and recognition of the ’92 consensus, all bilateral economic measures and policies might be reconsidered,” Chen said on Thursday at a dinner in Beijing with senior executives of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland, a China-sanctioned Taiwanese trade group.
He said the peaceful -development of cross-strait relations “did not spring out of nowhere.”
“If the two sides had not recognized the ’92 consensus and upheld the anti-Taiwan independence stance, cross-strait relations would not have grown to the present stage,” he added.
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between Taiwan and China that there is only “one China,” but that each side is free to interpret “one China” as they see fit.
The Democratic Progressive Party maintains that no such consensus was ever reached.
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Su Chi (蘇起) admitted in February 2006 that he made up the term in 2000 — when he was the chairman of the MAC — to break the cross-strait deadlock and alleviate the tension.
Responding to Chen’s remarks, the council said the agreements signed and the engagement mechanisms built through institutionalized negotiations between the two sides over the last few years have laid a solid foundation for the continued development of cross-strait relations.
As peace and stability are -crucial to Taiwan’s survival and conducive to China’s steady growth, the council said, the two sides should treasure the great improvements made in bilateral ties in recent years and should never repeat their previous confrontational or antagonistic approach toward each other.
Saying that the top goal of Taiwan’s cross-strait policy is to create an environment favorable for Taiwan’s sustainable development, the council said Taipei looks forward to working with Beijing to sort out peaceful solutions to bilateral disputes in a pragmatic manner.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
IDENTITY SHIFT: Asked to choose to identify as either Taiwanese or Chinese, 83.3 percent of respondents chose Taiwanese, while 8.4 percent chose Chinese An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, 71.5 percent, think that Taiwan should compete in international competitions under the name “Taiwan,” a Taiwan Brain Trust survey published yesterday showed. Referring to Taiwan’s victory last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12, the survey results showed that 89.1 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s exceptional performance in sporting competitions furthers national unity. Only 18.8 percent of respondents supported Taiwanese teams’ continued use of the name “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting competitions, the survey showed. Among Taiwan’s leading political parties, the name “Team Taiwan” was supported by 91.1 percent of self-identified Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters,
RSS