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President Ma sees China's remarks on ROC Constitution as positive

ROC Central News Agency

2016/02/27 18:41:52

Taipei, Feb. 27 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has responded positively to remarks by China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (王毅) on cross-Taiwan Strait issues and the hope that Taiwan's new elected leader will respect Taiwan's 'one China' Constitution.

Ma felt that if Beijing is willing to face squarely the Republic of China (Taiwan) Constitution, it will be conducive to the peaceful development of cross-strait ties, said Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) Saturday.

The '1992 consensus,' or 'one China, different interpretations,' that has underpinned ties with China during the Ma administration is based on the definition of cross-strait relations under the ROC Constitution, Chen said.

The consensus refers to the basic concept that both Taiwan and mainland China agree that there is only one China, with each side free to interpret what that means.

During a historic meeting with China's President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Singapore in November, Ma also made clear his administration's stance that the '1992 consensus' does not involve 'two Chinas,' 'one China, one Taiwan' and 'Taiwan independence,' because they are not allowed under the ROC Constitution.

Also, in his capacity as the leader of Taiwan, Ma brought up the ROC Constitution in his meeting with Xi in Singapore, which Chen said was a significant move and unprecedented in the history of cross-strait relations.

Under the '1992 consensus,' Taiwan has been able to achieve unprecedented peace and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait over the past eight years, something that every president in Taiwan should value and preserve, Chen said.

Ma was responding to remarks by Wang during a question-and-answer session following a speech Thursday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a think tank in Washington.

'She is elected on the basis of their current constitution, which still recognizes the mainland and Taiwan as one, the same China,' Wang said in response to a question about the impact of the election of Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party as president on cross-strait ties.

'It will be difficult to imagine that someone who is elected on the basis of that constitution should try to do anything in violation of their own constitution,' he said in Mandarin Chinese.

In addition to a rare reference to the ROC Constitution, Wang's remarks were seen as conciliatory in Taiwan primarily because he did not mention the so-called '1992 consensus,' which Chinese officials have repeated as a bottom line for relations between China and Taiwan.

Tsai has so far refused to adopt the formula but has instead promised to maintain the status quo under the framework of the ROC Constitution and to not provoke Beijing. She has also pledged to pursue good relations with China.

(By Hsieh Chia-chen and Elaine Hou)
ENDITEM/ls