The Democratic Progressive Party has never acknowledged the existence of the so-called “1992 consensus” or “one China” consensus, spokesperson Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said yesterday.
Lin was responding to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) challenge to DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to clearly state if her party acknowledges the “1992 consensus” between Taiwan and China.
If Taiwan does not recognize the consensus, which Ma called a bedrock of the relationship, uncertainty would be created and doubts would arise over cross-strait peace, Ma was quoted as saying by the United Evening News on Thursday.
Lin said that for the DPP, the so-called “1992 consensus” represents a consensus on “one China,” which it has never agreed to. Ma should first explain what he means by the “1992 consensus,” Lin said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has defined the “1992 consensus” as a tacit agreement between Taipei and Beijing that there is but “one China” whose meaning is open for each side to interpret. The KMT would interpret “one China” as the Republic of China on Taiwan, while Beijing would define it as the People’s Republic of China.
However, former KMT legislator Su Chi (蘇起) admitted in February 2006 that he made up the term in 2000 — when he was head of the Mainland Affairs Council — to break the cross-strait deadlock and alleviate tension.
Lin cited recent examples of Chinese officials addressing Taiwanese officials with Mr, Mrs, or the honorific form of “you,” instead of their official titles, which he said raised doubts about the government’s approach to dealing with China.
While Taiwanese officials call their Chinese counterparts by their official titles, such as “Chairman Chen Yunlin” (陳雲林) of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) could only express regret at Chen addressing her by first name or as “you,” Lin said.
“Why is it that Chinese officials visiting Taiwan do not show their respect to Taiwanese officials and address them by their official titles?” Lin asked. “Is that equality?”
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS