Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Yang (汪洋) yesterday called for increased cross-strait collaborations based on the so-called “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence.
In the opening speech at the 11th Straits Forum in China’s Xiamen, Wang, who is also on the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) politburo, said that “China’s sovereignty and territory have never been severed,” adding: “Nothing has ever changed the legal fact and history that both sides of the [Taiwan] Strait belong to ‘one China.’”
People on both sides of the Strait have always longed for an end to cross-strait political opposition and desired national unification, he said.
Photo: CNA
“The nation must be unified and will definitely be unified,” he added.
Based on the conditions of the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence, “we are willing to have in-depth discussions with political parties, organizations and people in Taiwan on a broad range of subjects, so that we can find common ground, build consensus and gradually move toward the goal of a peaceful unification,” Wang said.
He also called on Taiwanese to build a mutually complementary economy with China, instead of seeking economic collaboration with other countries.
Tseng, who led a 15-member KMT delegation to the event, accused President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration of trying to malign the “1992 consensus,” interfering with cross-strait exchanges and promoting sensationalism over related issues.
Through last year’s nine-in-one elections, Taiwanese have expressed their desire for stable cross-strait relations free of interference based on political ideologies, he said.
The “1992 consensus” helps ensure cross-strait peace and stability like a ballast stone, and “should definitely be cherished and insisted upon,” Tseng added.
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 government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is only “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
To improve cross-strait exchanges, Tseng urged China to consistently carry out the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement signed in 2010, as well as the mechanisms for purchasing Taiwan’s surplus agricultural products.
Tseng expressed hope that authorities would maintain the number of Chinese students and tourists visiting Taiwan at a certain level to deepen “this most direct and sincere form of [cross-strait] exchanges.”
The KMT “will work to promote cross-strait exchanges and maintain peace across the Strait based on the foundation of the ‘1992 consensus’ and opposing Taiwanese independence,” he said.
Before the forum, Wang told Tseng in a meeting that Taiwanese authorities have been trying to block cross-strait economic and civic exchanges due to next year’s legislative and presidential elections.
However, despite the interference, more than 10,000 Taiwanese have attended the event, the highest number ever, he said.
Tseng said that as the elections near, the “1992 consensus” is likely to be reviewed and challenged.
“As a result, the KMT and the CCP must be prepared for difficult challenges in the next six months,” he said.
Mainland Affairs Council spokesperson Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) on Thursday said that the Chinese government inflated the number of Taiwanese attending the event.
The coast guard drove away 567 Chinese boats and seized seven illegally operating in Taiwanese waters in the first six months of this year, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. They mostly operated near Kinmen and Penghu counties, resulting in fines totaling NT$1.7 million (US$52,440), it said. Three ships — two near Kinmen County and one near Penghu County — were detained in January for illegally crossing the border, while one ship each was detained near Kinmen in February and Penghu in March respectively, it said. The ship seized near Penghu in January was the Yun Ao (雲澳), detained by the CGA’s
Military photovoltaic projects have been found to have used Chinese-made devices blacklisted by the government, including Huawei Technologies Co routers, the Ministry of National Defense’s Armaments Bureau said on Thursday. An ongoing investigation has identified the illegal use of 128 current transformers, two routers and a data reader at the Hungchailin Army Base, Pinghai Navy Base and Tri-Service General Hospital’s Songshan branch, it said. The devices were manufactured in the Chinese factories of German solar energy equipment supplier SMA Solar Technology, Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Delta Electronics Co, Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei and Taiwanese industrial PC maker Advantech Co, the bureau said. The bureau’s
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
Beijing’s recent provocative actions against the Philippines in the South China Sea were partly meant as a “dress rehearsal” for the invasion of Taiwan, former US deputy national security advisor Matt Pottinger said at a Heritage Foundation forum in Washington on Tuesday. Beijing’s blocking of a Philippine resupply mission on June 17 with unprecedented violence had multiple implications. “What they’re doing is trying to demonstrate that they can blockade, create a sense of futility and discredit the idea that the United States is going to help not only the Philippines, but by extension Taiwan,” Pottinger said. Pottinger was referring to a clash