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China, deal with my
policy: Tsai
GREATER GOOD: The DPP chairperson urged Beijing
to revisit her proposed ‘Taiwan consensus’ policy unveiled on Tuesday, as both
sides stand to benefit
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Saying there are many “olive branches” and good will in her recently announced
policy on China, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen
(蔡英文) yesterday urged China to re-examine and deal with her proposed “Taiwan
consensus,” which she said best serves the interests of both sides of the Taiwan
Strait.
“It serves both Taiwan and China’s interests if China can deal with all
Taiwanese and their opinions, which is what we call a ‘Taiwan consensus,’
instead of working only with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in terms of the
‘1992 consensus,’” the DPP presidential candidate said.
The so-called “1992 consensus” refers to what the KMT describes as a tacit
understanding reached between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait that “there is
only one China with each side free to interpret what that means.”
Tsai made the remarks yesterday in response to China’s criticism of her
cross-strait policy.
In a statement on its Web site, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Tsai’s
policy, which denied the existence of the so-called “1992 consensus,” was
unrealistic and cannot be accepted by the mainland.”
“Once put in place, it would mean there would be no way for cross-strait
consultations to proceed, and once more there would be upheaval in relations,”
it said, adding that “all the facts show that the DPP has still not changed its
‘Taiwan independence’ position of ‘one country on either side [of the Taiwan
Strait].’”
Saying that China’s criticism was not unexpected, Tsai yesterday advised the
Chinese government “to review the policy — which actually has many olive
branches and goodwill in it — more carefully.”
There must be rationalists in China, she said, adding that the Chinese should
look at the cross-strait issue “in a larger context as well as from a higher
perspective,” otherwise a solid foundation of exchanges cannot be established.
Tsai also called for the KMT to change its approach to handling cross-strait
issues through “sorting out its priorities” and seeking a consensus from
Taiwanese through a democratic mechanism before engaging in talks with China.
In the past three years, cross-strait negotiations carried out by the KMT
administration under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had always been
non-transparent and evaded monitoring by the legislature, Tsai said.
What was worse, was that the KMT then demanded — and even threatened — the
opposition party and Taiwanese to accept the agreements they had signed, she
added.
“This is not what a democratic political party is supposed to do. The KMT should
always stand on the side of Taiwanese,” Tsai said.
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