US should be ‘peacemaker’ between Beijing and Taipei, Ma Ying-jeou says

Dialogue would also help avoid more US-China confrontation, according to Taiwan’s former president

Speaking at NYU, Ma also says cross-strait peace will only be possible if ‘1992 consensus’ is accepted

Reading Time:3 minutes

Ma Ying-jeou’s remarks have drawn fire from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:00pm, 17 Oct 2023

The United States should play the role of peacemaker and broker talks between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou said.

Ma made the remarks in New York on Monday, saying such dialogue would also be conducive to avoiding further confrontation between Washington and Beijing, and to preventing Taiwan from becoming the next Ukraine.

The self-ruled island – which Beijing sees as part of its territory that must be taken under its control, by force if necessary – has faced growing military threats from mainland China since Ma’s successor, Tsai Ing-wen, took power and refused to accept the one-China principle.

Ma Ying-jeou (left) spoke at New York University on Monday. Photo: Weibo

Addressing students and academics at New York University, Ma noted that Taiwan was described as the most dangerous place on Earth by The Economist in 2021.

“To head off the crisis, I have two proposals,” Ma said, according to a statement released by his office in Taipei on Tuesday.

“One is to suggest that the ruling authorities in Taiwan strictly abide by the Constitution of the Republic of China [Taiwan’s official name] and the Act Governing Relations of People Across the Taiwan Strait and return to the cross-strait political common ground – that is the ‘1992 consensus’.”

Ma, from the main opposition Kuomintang party, said that would enable the two sides to build mutual trust and ease cross-strait tensions.

The 1992 consensus refers to a tacit understanding that in order to continue to talk, the two sides must recognise that there is only one China, but each can have its own interpretation of what that means.

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