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Ma tilts to China’s
consensus: DPP
‘LATEST RETREAT’: Ma Ying-jeou wrote to Xi
Jinping to say the two sides ‘reached a consensus in 1992’ to insist on the ‘one
China’ principle in a reversal of earlier interpretations
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) interpretation of the so-called “1992 consensus”
has been tilting toward Beijing’s definition, as evidenced by his latest message
to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and that could spell trouble for Taiwan’s
future, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said yesterday.
In his reply to Xi’s congratulatory letter for his re-election as Chinese
Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman on Saturday, Ma wrote that “both sides of the
Taiwan Strait reached a consensus in 1992 to express each other’s insistence on
the ‘one China’ principle.”
“The message marked the latest retreat Ma has made about the ‘1992 consensus.’
It was unacceptable and reflected that eventual unification is Ma’s vision of
Taiwan’s future,” DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) told a press conference.
Ma has given up his ground over the years on the sensitive political term, which
he and the KMT always called “the foundation of cross-strait peace and the most
important element for the best cross-strait ties in six decades,” Gao said.
According to the lawmaker, Ma said he would not accept the “1992 consensus” if
it referred to the “one China” principle in 2006. Two years later, Ma said both
sides should not engage in talks if Beijing insisted on the “one China”
principle.
In 2010, Ma described the “1992 consensus” as the foundation for the resumption
of bilateral talks and in November last year, the president said it meant that
both sides insisted that there is only “one China,” but interpreted the context
of their argument differently, the lawmaker said.
Taiwan has always refused to accept the “one China” principle and maintained
that the “1992 consensus” only expressed that “each side verbally states its
respective principles on ‘one China.’”
The most commonly used explanation of the consensus for the Taiwanese government
has been “one China with different interpretations” (一中各表), while Beijing’s
position was shortened as “respective expressions on the ‘one China’ principle”
(各表一中).
“However, the message on Saturday showed that Ma has taken one step closer to
Beijing’s ideology by abandoning the ‘different interpretations’ and upholding
the ‘one China’ principle,” Gao said.
The inappropriate reply was likely an attempt to pave the way for a possible
meeting between Ma and Xi, DPP Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said.
However, it was dangerous that Ma has made such a decision on Taiwan’s future
alone, without respecting the opinions of the 23 million Taiwanese, Wu said.
“I don’t see how the people of Taiwan could not be angry over a message that
unilaterally dictated the direction of this country without their consent,” he
said.
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