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.
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