President-elect hopes China can display more good will

ROC Central News Agency

2016/03/21 23:40:33

Taipei, March 21 (CNA) President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has said there is a rare opportunity for Taiwan and China to display good will and build mutual trust between now and her inauguration on May 20.

In an interview with local newspaper the China Times that appeared on its front page on Monday, Tsai said she hoped the mainland could capitalize on the opportunity to "display some good will."

She did not answer directly if she has experienced any good will over the past two months since being elected president on Jan. 16.

"I myself feel that the two months (before her inauguration) will be a period for both sides to display good will, hoping that both sides could build up trust through a mutual display of good will," she said.

If both sides could do so, "it will leave more leeway for dealing with cross-strait relations in the future," she said.

She reminded the mainland that it should recognize that Taiwan is a democratic society, and said that while the mainland has its own expectations, "there is a big gap between the will of Taiwan people and the mainland's expectation."

This is a reality that the mainland must face, Tsai said, while also acknowledging that as a president, she must exercise caution when making decisions.

"At this stage, I will cautiously deal with the issue. I've heard voices from all sides. Some voices have been amplified, while others have yet to be fully expressed," she said.

Tsai said good will could not be discerned through any single gesture but had to be observed over an extended period of time and based on the overall situation, which she said she would be doing before May 20.

"Before a final decision, I will not be led by any particular ideas," she said.

She also said she does not intend to respond to the issue of "1992 consensus" before May 20.

China has set the "1992 consensus" as the bottom line in dealing with cross-strait relation, which the present Kuomintang administration sees as referring to one China, with both sides free to interpret its meaning.

Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party have never recognized the existence of the consensus.

She stressed that what she says before May 20 and in her inaugural speech are not very important, noting that misstatements or poor phrases could lead to problems in dealing with cross-strait relations.

She is looking forward to the mainland to capitalize on the opportunity to display good will, saying that "this is not for me, but for the Taiwanese people, as Taiwan is after all a democratic society, and people's views are the most important."

China knows what Taiwanese people in a democratic society most hope for and most expect to see, she said, adding that she believes "China is capable of thinking about these things without our having to point them out."

(By Lilian Wu)
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