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Ma Ying-jeou warns
against dropping ‘1992 consensus’
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff Reporter
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday defended the so-called “1992 consensus”
as the basis for the maintenance of the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait,
and said discarding it would create uncertainty.
In response to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s
(蔡英文) cross-strait platform, Ma said he made clear in his inaugural address that
his administration would maintain the “status quo” through the “three noes”
under the framework of the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution and develop
cross-strait relations on the basis of the “1992 consensus,” and that such
policies have been recognized by the international community.
“Throwing out the ‘three noes’ and the ‘1992 consensus’ would create uncertainty
in cross-strait relations. It would have a huge impact on both sides of the
Taiwan Strait, especially Taiwan,” he said in a speech at a ceremony in Kinmen
marking two key anniversaries.
The “three noes” refer to no discussion of unification with Beijing during Ma’s
presidency, no pursuit of, or support for, de jure Taiwanese independence and no
use of force to resolve cross-strait disputes.
Ma accused the former DPP government and former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁)
of failing to promote peace across the Strait, and isolating Taiwan
internationally with his “one country on each side of the Strait” diplomacy.
The consensus — which Ma and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) claim was an
agreement reached by Taiwan and China in 1992 that each side recognized “one
China,” but had its own interpretation of what it meant — was the basis Taipei
and Beijing adopted to handle relations, Ma said, noting 15 agreements had been
signed in the past three years “as a result of the consensus.”
“We are just beginning to push for peaceful cross-strait relations, and the
foundation for mutual trust ... remains fragile. It requires long-term efforts
from both sides to maintain peace across the Strait,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) accused Tsai of
flip-flopping on the 1992 consensus and challenged her and the DPP over their
plans to develop cross-strait relations without using the consensus as a basis
for negotiations. The DPP’s refusal to acknowledge the consensus risks pushing
cross-strait relations backwards, she said.
“Tsai’s cross-strait policies are empty and constantly changing; the
implementation of such policies would create chaos. Taiwan cannot afford chaos
brought by empty and changing policies ... The council will continue to defend
and implement the right policies,” Lai said.
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