Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday reaffirmed his opposition to China’s “one country, two systems” formula after his previous support for President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) “four musts” drew ire from pan-blue supporters.
Chiang, grandson of former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), first expressed opposition to the “one country, two systems” formula during a political talk show on Thursday last week, in which he also expressed support for Tsai’s “four musts” as a basis for cross-strait relations.
Tsai in her New Year’s Day speech on Tuesday last week said that China must recognize the existence of the Republic of China (ROC); respect the values of democracy and freedom that Taiwan’s 23 million residents hold dear; resolve cross-strait differences in a peaceful and equitable manner; and engage in negotiations with the government or an institution with a mandate from the government.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Chiang Wan-an’s support for Tsai’s position on cross-strait ties drew criticism from KMT supporters, with many attacking him on Facebook and some calling him a “separatist.”
A KMT member praising Tsai’s speech “is classic inexperience and naivety,” former KMT Central Policy Committee director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) said.
“When did Tsai Ing-wen and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ever acknowledge the existence of the ROC? Does [Beijing] require the abolition of freedom and democratic systems [as part of unification]?” he asked.
The so-called “1992 consensus” is a peaceful way for Taiwan to achieve parity with China, Alex Tsai said.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Chiang Wan-an yesterday said that he supports the KMT’s definition of the “1992 consensus” that both sides of the Strait must be free to define “China” in their own way.
That freedom forms the basis of the “1992 consensus,” which is built on the foundation of the ROC Constitution and is executed through the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), he said.
While he does not agree with Tsai Ing-wen’s refusal to acknowledge the “1992 consensus,” he could not accept the “one country, two systems” formula, Chiang said.
“Taiwan is not Hong Kong,” he said, adding that most Taiwanese would not accept unification under the formula.
Whoever is president needs to follow the nation’s Constitution and protect its sovereignty, he said.
He added that regardless of who is president, they must acknowledge the existence of the ROC, protect democracy and the freedom of its citizens, and must resolve differences with China in a way that recognizes the equal legitimacy of the ROC and its institutions.
“If President Tsai refuses to accept the ‘1992 consensus’ and refuses to acknowledge its existence, I implore her to provide a specific solution for discourse with China, and not just throw around hipster slogans,” Chiang Wan-an said.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
The 2025 Kaohsiung Wonderland–Winter Amusement Park event has teamed up with the Japanese manga series Chiikawa this year for its opening at Love River Bay yesterday, attracting more than 10,000 visitors, the city government said. Following the success of the “2024 Kaohsiung Wonderland” collaboration with a giant inflatable yellow duck installation designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, this year the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau collaborated with Chiikawa by Japanese illustrator Nagano to present two giant inflatable characters. Two inflatable floats — the main character, Chiikwa, a white bear-like creature with round ears, and Hachiware, a white cat with a blue-tipped tail
RSS