Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen open to cross-strait talks, but has some demands for Beijing first

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said on Saturday she was open to talks with the mainland if Beijing was willing to promote democracy and renounce the use of force against the self-ruled island.

Tsai’s comments came two days after she rejected Chinese President Xi Jinping’s proposal for the two sides to start talks on unification based on the “one country, two systems” model which applied in Hong Kong.

“As the democratically elected president, I have to defend our democracy, freedom, and way of life,” she told foreign journalists in Taipei to explain her rejection of Xi’s proposal, made in a speech on Wednesday to mark 40 years since the end of military confrontation across the Taiwan Strait.

Tsai said Xi’s statement highlighted two fundamental dangers posed by Beijing to freedom and democracy in Taiwan.

“First, by emphasising ‘one China’ and ‘one country, two systems,’ particularly in the context of the so-called 1992 consensus, China has made clear their political intentions towards Taiwan and their steps for unification.

“This is a major disregard for the fact that the Republic of China, Taiwan does exist, and is in full operation like all other democratic countries,” she said.

“Second, China’s plan to engage in political consultation with the political parties instead of the democratically elected government of Taiwan, is a continuation of its deliberate campaign to undermine and subvert our democratic process and create division in our society.”

The 1992 consensus refers to an understanding that there is only one China, though each side may have its own interpretation of what constitutes “China”.