During his trip to the US at the beginning of the month, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) was asked about his position on the so-called “1992 consensus.” Chu said that the cross-Taiwan Strait political formula is a “no-consensus consensus” and a form of “created ambiguity” between the two sides.
He was immediately rebuffed by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, which said in a statement that “the 1992 consensus is not permitted to be arbitrarily distorted, [Chu] must maintain a clear head and keep to the correct direction.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) set the tone in 2019 when he said
During a recent interview on the issue of the so-called “1992 consensus,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said that he in 1992 personally oversaw cross-strait negotiations, and that in late October of that year, the Taiwanese and Chinese governments agreed to support and uphold the “one China” principle, although each side had different interpretations of what “one China” means.
He went on to say that on Nov. 3, 1992, the Taiwanese side submitted a letter to the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), inquiring whether verbal expressions of both sides’ interpretations of “one China” would solve the issue.
As the Russia-Ukraine war continues, barely a day goes by without a report of a bridge being blown to smithereens by one side or the other. The tactical destruction of bridges is as old as war itself, with structures dismantled or dynamited to slow the progress of advancing forces, cut off supply lines or pin down a retreating army.
Amid the destruction, new bridges are also built during conflict to rapidly ferry troops and materials across rivers. During peacetime, bridges are economic corridors, linking population centers separated by nature. Bridges can also be used to advance diplomatic goals, such as the
Despite flagging support for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Chairman Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) US trip deserves to be treated with some seriousness.
After all, Taiwan is a democracy where power typically passes from one party to another. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) cannot stay in power forever, and other parties do not yet stand a realistic chance of being elected.
When the chairman of Taiwan’s largest opposition party visits the US, he can be expected to have in-depth discussions with the country’s politicians and think tanks to enhance the two nations’ understanding of each other’s positions, policies and proposals.
Chu was promoting