Taiwan and China have found a model for peaceful coexistence — namely, the so-called “1992 consensus,” or “one China, different interpretations,” President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said on two separate occasions in Boston on Saturday.
Addressing a banquet in honor of Taiwanese expatriates in the US, Ma said that the concept of the “1992 consensus” was proposed by Taiwan and accepted by China.
Some people have described the policy as a “masterpiece of ambiguity,” he said.
Photo: CNA
Regardless of whether it is ambiguous, the consensus has helped the two sides of the Taiwan Strait set aside their sovereignty disputes and pool their efforts for mutual benefit, Ma said.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
To promote peace, Ma said that since he took office, he has been promoting cross-strait relations, and trade and tourism exchanges have reached their highest point in 66 years.
Exchanges between the two sides are helpful for both sides, the president said, adding that he hopes they can continue exchanges and interactions based on the principle of the “1992 consensus.”
During the banquet, Ma also thanked the Massachusetts State House for its concern over burns victims from the June 27 explosion and fire at the Formosa Fun Coast water park in New Taipei City.
Ma also spoke at a seminar at Harvard University, with students, teachers, as well as US academics familiar with Taiwanese affairs attending.
The president reiterated his administration’s commitment to the “status quo,” his “three noes” policy of “no unification, no independence and no use of force,” and peaceful and prosperous cross-strait relations based on the Republic of China’s Constitution and the “1992 consensus.”
Up to 80 percent of the Taiwanese public supports maintaining the “status quo,” an indication that they hope to maintain peaceful and prosperous cross-strait relations created by his administration over the past seven years, Ma was reported as saying.
New York University School of Law professor Jerome Cohen reportedly proposed that Ma be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his initiatives to resolve disputes in the East and South China seas.
Cohen made his proposal during the question-and-answer session after Ma’s speech, saying that he expects Ma to provide more proactive measures to promote peace on Itu Aba (Taiping Island, 太平島) in the South China Sea, according to a person who attended the seminar.
Itu Aba is the biggest Taiwan-controlled island in the contested and resource-rich South China Sea region, which is claimed either entirely or in part by Taiwan, Brunei, China, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Ma touted the benefits of a fisheries’ agreement signed in 2013 between Taiwan and Japan to address fishing disputes in waters surrounding the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) after his East China Sea peace initiative — which calls for shelving disputes and seeking joint development of resources — was proposed.
Ma said his proposal was based on the idea that “while national sovereignty cannot be divided or compromised, natural resources can be shared,” according to the attendee.
Ma arrived in Boston earlier that day en route to the Caribbean and Central America as part of his 11th overseas visit since assuming office in 2008.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
RSS