Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday panned remarks by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) that her stance on the nation’s “status quo” is “aligned with the US,” adding that the US “recognizes the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] as the only legitimate government of China,” calls for the gradual reduction of arms sales to Taiwan and is against Taiwan’s participation in international organizations that require statehood.
Online media outlet NewTalk reported that Tsai told pro-independence groups earlier this week that her interpretation of the “status quo” is in line with the stances of the US and Japan, which is “a status quo of [keeping] Taiwan’s sovereignty” and “a status quo that sees Taiwan as not belonging to China.”
The report said that the Taiwan Nation Alliance (TNA) — which consists of more than 30 pro-independence groups — handed a statement via alliance convener and former DPP chairman Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) to Tsai, which reportedly urged Tsai to make her position on the “status quo” clearer in order to bolster Taiwan’s solidarity.
In response, Tsai was said to have told Yao that she is to maintain the “status quo” of Taiwan being separate from China, which is the “status quo” supported by the US, the report said.
Hung yesterday called Tsai’s remarks “dishonest and irresponsible.”
“[Tsai] should read what was stated in the Three Communiques [joint statements made by the US and the People’s Republic of China]. The US stance is that there is one China, that there is what we call the 1992 consensus and that it is against Taiwan’s independence. Are you sure that the stance you uphold is aligned with the US?” Hung asked.
“The US also says that the CCP is the sole legitimate government of China, supports the yearly reduction of arms sales to Taiwan and is against our participation in international organizations,” she said. “Tsai has not only lost national dignity, but also Taiwan’s dignity in saying that she holds the same view as the US on the status quo.”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) also weighed in yesterday, criticizing Tsai for “basing her cross-strait policy on the US government’s interpretation while running for president.”
Regarding the report that Tsai “nodded” in agreement with the TNA’s view that Taiwan is an independent and sovereign nation, KMT spokesperson Yang Wei-chung (楊偉中) said that former US secretary of state Colin Powell in April 2004 said: “Taiwan is not an independent nation” and “does not enjoy sovereignty as a nation,” with then-Department of State spokesman Adam Ereli adding: “The words the secretary used accurately reflect our longstanding policy on Taiwan’s status.”
“[Which stance of the US] is it that Tsai agrees with on the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty?” Yang asked.
Yang also cited former US president Bill Clinton as saying in June 1998 that the US “does not support Taiwan independence, two Chinas, or one China and one Taiwan,” and urged Tsai to respond to that particular US stance.
He called on Tsai to clarify her cross-strait police publicly, rather than using “nods,” referring to it being in line with the US stance or having a spokesperson respond in her stead.
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