Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday called for relations with China to be returned to a state of “no unification, no independence and no use of force,” and proposed the establishment of a committee on the development of peace across the Taiwan Strait.
Chiang made the remarks at the KMT’s weekly Central Standing Committee meeting in Taipei — the final one over which he would preside before taking a leave of absence next week to campaign for re-election as KMT chairman.
He began his address by thanking the nation’s delegation for its success at the Tokyo Olympic Games, which closed on Sunday, adding that the KMT would stand with the athletes and work to improve the domestic sports environment.
Photo: CNA
This year’s Olympic Games have revealed “deep concerns,” he said, as instead of easing tensions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the Games provoked hostile comments online.
“People on both sides of the Strait once again fell into a downward ‘malicious spiral,’” Chiang said. “In the past, the two sides of the Strait have had the glory of peaceful and stable development, to which the 1992 consensus was key.”
The so-called “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 Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Since the KMT’s proposal in September last year of the concept of a “1992 consensus based on the Republic of China Constitution,” public understanding and trust in the consensus has gradually recovered, Chiang said.
The notion of a “1992 consensus based on the Republic of China Constitution” would allow the “1992 consensus” to “continue to become the main option for Taiwanese,” as well as earn the KMT public trust and stabilize cross-strait relations, he said.
The policy of “no unification, no independence and no use of force” proposed by the administration of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) ensured peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, Chiang said.
Over the past five years, the Democratic Progressive Party and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) have shown that “relying on empty words alone cannot maintain the peaceful status quo of the past,” he said.
Chiang proposed “returning to a peaceful state of ‘no unification, no independence and no use of force.’”
Of primary interest would be to build a consensus within Taiwan, he said.
It would be necessary to launch a “cross-strait peace development committee,” Chiang said, adding that such a committee could either be established by the KMT or set up jointly with other political parties and organizations.
The committee could serve as a national forum on the future of cross-strait relations and promote meaningful dialogue across generations and political affiliations, he said.
The KMT is scheduled to hold elections for its chairperson and delegates of its National Congress on Sept. 25.
KMT members have to register their candidacy on Monday or Tuesday next week.
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