Chinese Communist Party, Taiwan’s KMT must defend 1992 consensus as one, Beijing’s top cross-strait policymaker says
- Top Taiwan affairs leader Wang Huning calls on KMT to work with Beijing to ‘resolutely oppose’ Taiwan independence and external influence
- Any problem can be resolved ‘as long as maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait is our No 1 goal’, KMT vice-chair Andrew Hsia says in Beijing
The comments from Wang Huning, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee – Beijing’s top decision-making panel – and deputy head of the Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, came as he met Andrew Hsia Li-yan, a KMT vice-chairman currently leading a delegation to the mainland.
“On the basis of reinforcing the political foundation of the ‘1992 consensus’ and opposing ‘Taiwan independence’, the Chinese Communist Party and Kuomintang should deepen political trust, maintain interaction in a constructive manner and strengthen cooperation and exchanges,” Wang told Hsia at Friday’s meeting, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
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Wang was referring to a broad understanding reached between Communist Party and KMT negotiators in 1992, which stated there is only one China – in defining cross-strait relations.
But this consensus was rejected by Tsai Ing-wen, leader of Taiwan’s independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, when she won the 2016 presidential race.
Ties across the Taiwan Strait have deteriorated since then, with Tsai now in the final year of her second and last term.
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“[We should together] resolutely oppose interference by ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists and external influence, and work together in safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Wang said, in what was seen as a veiled reference to Washington’s growing ties with the self-governed island.
While the KMT, the island’s ruling party in 1992, supports the consensus, it insists that each side can have their own interpretation of “one China”.
Beijing’s focus, meanwhile, has been on ensuring adherence to the consensus in line with its one-China principle, as well as opposition to Taiwan independence, as it views the island as a breakaway province.
Wang was the second senior mainland official to meet Hsia during his 10-day visit, which began on Wednesday.
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The 1992 consensus was raised during that meeting as well, with Song emphasising its importance and saying Taiwan and the mainland were one family, according to Xinhua.
However, Taiwan’s top cross-strait policy body – the Mainland Affairs Council – rejected Song’s stance, describing it as Beijing’s attempt “to reinforce its policy of dwarfing and undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty and dignity”.
“Taiwan people will never accept how the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang together sing the same tune in promoting the ‘1992 consensus’,” the council said in a statement released shortly after the Song-Hsia meeting.
“Taiwan politicians should stand our ground … and should not collaborate with the CCP in its propaganda and United Front work,” it added, referring to Beijing’s information war tactics.
Hsia’s meetings with Wang and Song were closely watched by the government in Taipei, which has warned the opposition party against striking any deals with Beijing that would hurt the island’s interests.
Hsia told Wang he hoped the two sides of the Taiwan Strait would continue their dialogue and build mutual trust, according to a KMT statement on the meeting issued on Friday.
“As long as maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait is our No 1 goal, I believe any problem can be resolved,” Hsia said, citing the KMT’s track record in cross-strait relations as reason for his optimism.
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The visit by the KMT delegation, which will also include trips to Shanghai, Chongqing and Chengdu, comes after the KMT scored a notable victory in Taiwan’s local elections last November.
The win has boosted hope among KMT supporters that the party would stand a better chance of regaining power in next year’s presidential election.
Cross-strait relations had warmed considerably during the eight-year term of Tsai’s predecessor, the KMT’s Ma Ying-jeou.
