President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of October 28 with an international group of scholars currently in Taipei to attend the 2010 International Conference on PLA Affairs. During the meeting, the president reiterated his stance of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" and his intention to continue conducting cross-strait relations on the basis of the "1992 Consensus."
The president noted that the cross-strait military imbalance has been growing steadily more lopsided in favor of mainland China since 2005, and this has elicited close scrutiny from Taiwan, neighboring nations, and the entire world. Accordingly, since taking office as president he has taken a series of measures to improve cross-strait relations, reduce tensions, and enhance Taiwan's ability to respond to contingencies and handle problems.
The president stated his view that, from a long-term perspective, Taiwan must shore up its national defense, but will not engage in an arms race with mainland China. In his inaugural address two years ago, the president stressed that he would act within the framework of the ROC Constitution to maintain the status quo of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force," and that he would conduct cross-strait relations on the basis of the "1992 Consensus." The term "no unification" means that he will not discuss the subject of cross-strait unification with mainland China during his term in office as president; the term "no independence" means that the Republic of China will not support a policy of de jure independence for Taiwan; and the term "no use of force" means opposition to the use of force to settle the Taiwan Strait issue.
As for the "1992 Consensus," President Ma emphasized that the two sides reached a consensus in 1992 whereby, with regard to the meaning of the term "one China," our side understands there to be "one China, respective interpretations." Mainland China officials also mentioned this consensus when they were recently in Taiwan to attend a meeting, and the president is confident that there is a common understanding regarding the consensus. On this basis, the two sides have concluded 14 agreements over the past two-plus years covering such matters as: direct postal, transportation, and trade links; visits to Taiwan by mainland tourists; hiring of mainland Chinese crews by Taiwan fishing vessels; mutual judicial assistance; financial supervisory cooperation; reduction and elimination of tariffs; and protection of intellectual property rights. Such a positive atmosphere has seldom been seen in the past 60 years, but it has come about at this time because both sides are willing to seize this historic opportunity to improve relations.
The president stated that his approach is to try and establish a systematic model that will give the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait an extended period for engaging in in-depth interaction. He stressed that the people on both sides are all ethnically Chinese, and ought to be able to draw upon their common Chinese cultural heritage to find the best way to resolve their dispute.
The president commented that our defense forces are not the only means for safeguarding security in the Taiwan Strait, which is why the government is also actively promoting cross-strait economic and cultural ties. At the same time, however, we continue to engage in national defense cooperation with the United States and other nations. In particular, Taiwan has purchased roughly US$13 billion worth of defensive arms from the United States in the past two years, the largest sale of arms to Taiwan in the past decade. The purpose of the acquisitions is to replace aging armaments and maintain Taiwan's needed defense capabilities. In other words, even as we expand cross-strait ties and maintain bilateral peace and prosperity, we do not for one minute slack off in our efforts to maintain the defensive capabilities upon which our national security depends.
Looking back on all the efforts put forth over the past two-plus years, the president opined that the two sides have effectively reduced tensions in the Taiwan Strait and established a certain degree of mutual trust. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, and war clouds still hover over the Korean Peninsula today, but in the Taiwan Strait, said the president, we see incipient signs of peace, which is deeply gratifying. Elsewhere, Taiwan is also building deeper ties with other nations throughout the world. Since signing the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with mainland China last June, our nation has begun discussing the possibility of entering into an economic cooperation agreement with Singapore, and the improvement in cross-strait relations has also made many other nations feel more confident about exploring contacts with Taiwan.
Commenting on the concern that many observers have recently voiced about whether the two sides intend to engage in confidence building measures (CBM), the president pointed out that the ECFA is itself a kind of CBM, and if there existed no confidence between the two sides they would never have been able to enter into such a complex and long-term agreement.
The scholars, led by China analyst Kenneth W. Allen, were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Deputy Minister of National Defense Chao Shih-chang to meet with President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Ko Kuang-yueh.