President Ma Ying-jeou said April 29 that the 1992 consensus is key to ensuring peace and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait while strengthening mutual trust for the benefit of the people on both sides.
“We proposed the consensus in accordance with the ROC Constitution,” Ma said. “It is a proven and pragmatic way of safeguarding national sovereignty and dignity, as well as promoting the peaceful development of cross-strait ties and regional stability.”
The president made the remarks while visiting the Mainland Affairs Council on the 22nd anniversary of the historic meeting in Singapore between Koo Chen-fu, former chairman of Taipei City-based Straits Exchange Foundation, and Wang Daohan, former chairman of Beijing-headquartered Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits.
“This landmark event saw the SEF and ARATS conclude four agreements and inaugurate institutionalized negotiations, attesting to the significance of the consensus in advancing relations between Taiwan and mainland China,” Ma said.
According to the president, the meeting allowed both sides to eventually reach an understanding that there exists only one China but with respective interpretations. “This enabled differences to be shelved on the way to seeking common ground,” he said.
While changes in Taiwan’s political landscape from 1995 to 2007 saw cross-strait tensions rise and exchanges put on ice, the two sides agreed to resume institutionalized negotiations on the basis of the consensus soon after Ma took office in May 2008.
Less than a month later, SEF and ARATS representatives met in Beijing and announced the launch of direct cross-strait flights and visits by mainland Chinese tourists to Taiwan, ushering in a new era in two-way ties.
The president said peaceful cross-strait relations are paying dividends across a spectrum of areas. ROC government statistics show that bilateral trade surged 34 percent to US$174.5 billion from 2007 to 2014, with Taiwan enjoying net trade surpluses of US$74.9 billion.
“During the same period, the number of mainland Chinese tourists and students visiting Taiwan increased sixteenfold and fortyfold, respectively to 3.84 million and 32,911, from 2007 figures.”
This healthy state of affairs won widespread international support, Ma said, adding that 140 countries and territories, up from 54 prior to 2008, now grant ROC nationals visa-free or landing visa privileges.
Although there are some critics of the consensus, the president said, none have proposed a suitable alternative acceptable to both sides of the strait. “We welcome recent adjustments by opposition party leaders to embracing a more pragmatic approach to cross-strait collaboration and reconciliation.”
Ma said cross-strait peace is in the best interests of the nation and also in line with the expectations of the global community. “It should be celebrated and cherished as a hard-won achievement.
“We have established a stable basis for cross-strait relations, and will continue existing policies to promote peaceful exchanges with Beijing on the principle of putting Taiwan first for the benefit of its people.” (SFC-JSM)
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