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.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from
RSS