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?”
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
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