bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Lawrence Chung

Taipei has named a former foreign minister as head of a cross-strait body in the hope of restoring dialogue with Beijing.
But Beijing, which cut communication with the island in June, said resumption of links hinged on the “1992 consensus”.
Analysts said the new chief of the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation could do little to improve cross-strait ties without agreement on the consensus.
President Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party has refused to acknowledge the consensus since her inauguration in May.
Taiwan seeks stronger support from US to counter pressure from Beijing
On Wednesday night, she named Tien Hung-mao as head of the SEF, which represents the island’s government in talks with Beijing. Tien, 77, was foreign minister between 2000 and 2002 and is head of the Institute for National Policy Research.
His future boss, Mainland Affairs Council chief Katharine Chang was his spokeswoman when he was foreign minister.
The government hopes to use Tien’s expertise and experience to explore opportunities for Taiwanese businesses, help them solve problems and maintain cross-strait exchanges
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang
Though he is seen as a DPP moderate, his stint at the now defunct National Unification Council set up during Lee Teng-hui’s presidency in the 1990s allowed him to forge good links with Kuomintang bigwigs, including former vice-president Vincent Siew and former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng.
“The government hopes to use Tien’s expertise and experience to explore opportunities for Taiwanese businesses, help them solve problems and maintain cross-strait exchanges,” Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang said.
Beijing threatens to suspend talks with Taipei until Tsai Ing-wen acknowledges ‘1992 consensus’
But Zhang Zhijun, director of the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said resumption of formal communications rested on the 1992 consensus.
“The key is the political basis used for talks,” Central News Agency quoted Zhang as saying.
The 1992 consensus, reached by the KMT and the mainland in 1992, allows the two sides to continue to talk as long as they acknowledge there is only one China. Each can have its own definition of what China stands for.
Without the consensus, whoever heads the SEF would be unable to resume the original function of the negotiating body
Chang Ya-chung, political science professor
National Taiwan University political science professor Chang Ya-chung said he did not expect Tien would be able to reopen talks as long as the Taipei refused to accept the consensus. “Without the consensus, whoever heads the SEF would be unable to resume the original function of the negotiating body,” Chang said.
DPP legislator Huang Wei-che said though Tien’s appointment might please the hardcore pro-independence camp, he could do little more than “maintain the basic liaison function”.


What does the fall of PLA top brass Zhang Youxia say about Beijing’s Taiwan plans?

Japanese deep sea expedition returns home with rare earth samples

Could Greenland and Iran have been factors behind latest China-Russia talks?

Taiwan’s KMT stresses ‘family’ ties with mainland China as vice-chair begins Beijing visit

Taiwan

Taiwan names former foreign minister to head cross-strait agency amid strained ties with Beijing

Tien Hung-mao (right) pictured in 2001 with the former president of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian. Photo: AFP

News

China

Politics

Tien Hung-mao to take charge at Straits Exchange Foundation, months after the mainland severed ties with the body


Taiwan names former foreign minister to head cross-strait agency amid strained ties with Beijing

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Tien Hung-mao to take charge at Straits Exchange Foundation, months after the mainland severed ties with the body

Tien Hung-mao to take charge at Straits Exchange Foundation, months after the mainland severed ties with the body