'One country, two areas' does not change status quo: MAC

ROC Central News Agency

2012/04/06 15:37:49

Taipei, April 6 (CNA) The controversial "one country, two areas" concept recently stated by a high-ranking ruling Kuomintang (KMT) official reflects the government's long-standing position and does not constitute a change to Taiwan's status quo, a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official said Friday.

The concept is in line with the Republic of China Constitution, which states that the ROC comprises the Taiwan area and mainland China, Yang Chia-chun, director of the MAC's Department of Policy Planning, said in a meeting with opposition Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislators.

Yang said the KMT Honorary Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung was stating the government's stance when he mentioned the concept during a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing last month.

He said such statements draw Beijing's attention to the existence of the ROC government on the other side of the Taiwan Strait.

However, TSU legislative caucus convener Hsu Chung-hsin insisted that Taiwan does not belong to China or to any other country.

Although the Treaty of San Francisco of 1951 renounced Japan's rights to Taiwan following the end of World War II, it did not specify to which country Taiwan was to be handed over, Hsu pointed out.

He expressed regret that MAC Minister Lai Shin-yuan declined to attend the TSU meeting to explain the government's policy.

Legislator Huang Wen-ling said the TSU caucus will extend another invitation to Lai next week and threatened that if Lai still does not attend, the caucus might refer her to the Control Yuan for investigation on charges of failing to explain government policy to the people.

(By Justin Su and Y.F. Low)