President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of November 3 with foreign guests attending an international academic symposium in Taiwan ("The Chinese Models of Development: Domestic and Global Aspects"). When meeting with the visitors, the president said that the ROC's development of relations with mainland China is not following the “Hong Kong model” or the “Tibet model,” but rather a unique "cross-strait model." The fundamental content of this model is that under the framework of the ROC Constitution the status quo shall be maintained via the "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" principle, and the two sides will continue to pursue the development of peace based on the "1992 Consensus," i.e. "one China, respective interpretations."
The president stressed that the government will defend the ROC's sovereignty while seeking to improve cross-strait relations and expand Taiwan's participation in the international community. It will also adamantly protect Taiwan's dignity and the interests of the people. Consequently, the relationship that the ROC develops with mainland China will not follow the “Hong Kong model” or the “Tibet model,” but rather a unique "cross-strait model." This model will enable lasting peace between the two sides and forge deeper interaction, he said. President Ma expressed his confidence that this interaction will be conducive to achieving sustained peace and mutual understanding.
President Ma stated that the basis of the "cross-strait model" is that under the framework of the ROC Constitution the status quo shall be maintained via the "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" principle, and the two sides will continue to pursue the development of peace based on the "1992 Consensus," i.e. "one China, respective interpretations."
The president also mentioned that 11 years ago former President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) met with Professor Harry Harding, who is present during today's meeting. At the time, former President Chen stated that he would accept the "1992 Consensus" if mainland China did so as well. Although then Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) 24 hours later publicly denied that the government embraced such a policy, the press release of that day's meeting is still present on the website of the Office of the President, he pointed out. Ms. Tsai, President Ma said, to this day still denies the existence of the "1992 Consensus," but he added that the consensus is the key to whether cross-strait relations will be able to develop steadily in the future. For us, the "one China" in the "one China, respective interpretations" consensus refers to the Republic of China, and this is the only possible interpretation under the ROC Constitution, he commented.
President Ma remarked that since taking office in May 2008 he has carried out a "three lines of defense" policy to protect Taiwan's security. This policy has yielded many achievements, he said, citing improved relations between the two sides and the signing of 16 agreements. At the same time, the policy has helped to expand the ROC's participation in the international community. Examples of this include participation in the World Health Assembly for three consecutive years, the initiation of negotiations with Singapore last year on an economic cooperation agreement, the signing of Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement in September this year, and the reaching of a consensus with New Zealand last month to study the possibility of signing of an economic cooperation agreement. In other words, the improvement in cross-strait ties has already helped create a virtuous cycle in which Taiwan enjoys greater participation in the world community, he said.
President Ma furthermore stated that mutual trust has increased at the highest levels between the ROC and the United States, Japan, the European Union, and other countries with which the ROC does not maintain formal diplomatic ties. The president pointed out that over the past three years, the United States has sold three packages of defense weapons to Taiwan for a total of US$18.3 billion. Meanwhile, the Japanese Diet has passed legislation that prevents impounding of works of art on display in Japan from other countries, which paves the way for Taipei’s National Palace Museum to hold an exhibition of pieces from its collections there. Also, the European Parliament has passed a number of resolutions welcoming the improvement in cross-strait relations, and has urged the European Union to sign an economic cooperation agreement with Taiwan. All of these are unprecedented accomplishments, the president said.
The president commented that these results have given the people of the ROC even greater confidence and willingness to further broaden the cross-strait relationship. This, he said, is an extremely important policy for the government at present. It also proves that cross-strait relations and international participation are not "either/or" choices, but rather are two things that can be compatible and move ahead simultaneously.
The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Thomas T. S. Cheng (鄭天授) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu (劉志攻).