The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday expressed regret, saying former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has harmed the nation’s sovereignty and dignity by echoing the “one China” principle advocated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which seeks to annex Taiwan.
In a speech at China’s Hunan University yesterday, Ma said “it is a clear fact” that the constitution of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), adopted in 1982, stipulates that “Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the People’s Republic of China.”
Ma said “our country” amended the constitution, so that “our country was divided into two parts — one is the Taiwan Area, and the other is the Mainland Area — both are [parts of] our Republic of China [ROC], both are [parts of] China.”
Photo: CNA
According to Article 2 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), “Taiwan Area” refers to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, while the “Mainland Area” refers to ROC territory outside the Taiwan Area, Ma said.
Therefore, based on the ROC Constitution, Taiwan and the mainland belong to one China, he said.
“We are the Taiwan Area, and you are the Mainland Area,” Ma said.
He said he was aware that “the Preamble of the 1982 Constitution on the mainland also mentions ‘Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the PRC,’” and “this is a clear fact.”
By mentioning the PRC Constitution, which claims that “Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the PRC,” and the ROC Constitution in the same breath, and saying that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait adhere to the “one China principle,” Ma has harmed the nation’s sovereignty and dignity, the council said, adding that he seriously deviated from the fact that Taiwan has never been a part of the PRC.
The cross-strait “status quo,” and the consensus among Taiwan’s ruling and opposition parties, as well as the 23 million Taiwanese, is that “the ROC and the PRC are not subordinate to each other,” it said.
“The ROC is a sovereign nation, not part of the PRC,” the council said, adding that it hopes former presidents who visit China defend Taiwan’s sovereignty, dignity and interests, and meet the public’s expectations.
Cross-Strait Policy Association researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said the ROC Constitution refers to “existing national boundaries,” but Ma deliberately cited the PRC constitution.
To some extent, Ma was also echoing the concept of “one China with respective interpretations,” attempting to put a spin on the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” is a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, which refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Wu said it was “very inappropriate” for Ma, as a former president, to use the constitutions of both sides of the Taiwan Strait to deal with the “one China” issue.
Ma’s trip to China did not highlight the fact that the ROC exists, but instead echoed the CPP’s claim that “Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory,” he said.
Ma’s statements do not match the reality of the international situation and the fact that the ROC has sovereignty, Wu said, adding that Ma did not request the CPP to recognize the ROC.
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