• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Taiwan's new president vows to continue cross-strait cooperation

ROC Central News Agency

2016/05/20 13:57:34

Taipei, May 20 (CNA) Taiwan's new President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) pledged in her inaugural speech Friday that her administration will make efforts to maintain the existing mechanisms for dialogue and seek cooperation across the Taiwan Strait.

Tsai said she was elected president in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of China, and thus it is her responsibility to safeguard the sovereignty and territory of the country.

With regard to disputes in the East and South China seas, she proposed setting aside differences to enable joint development, adding that her administration will "work to maintain the existing mechanisms for dialogue and communication across the Taiwan Strait."

On the issue of cross-strait ties, Tsai did not give in to Beijing's demand on the so-called "1992 consensus" but said that in 1992, both sides of the strait achieved "various joint acknowledgements and understandings" through negotiation.

Since then, interactions and negotiations across the strait over the years have enabled and accumulated outcomes that both sides must cherish and sustain, she added.

"It is based on such existing realities and political foundations that the stable and peaceful development of the cross-strait relationship must be continuously promoted," she said in her speech in front of the Presidential Office, shortly after she was sworn in.

By existing political foundations, she said she was referring to four key elements.

The first element is the fact of the 1992 talks between the semi-official Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation and its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, when there was joint acknowledgement of setting aside differences to seek common ground, she said.

"This is a historical fact," she added.

The second element is the existing Republic of China constitutional order, while the third element pertains to the outcomes of over 20 years of negotiations and interactions across the strait, she said.

The constitution was enacted in 1947, when both mainland China and Taiwan came under the rule of the Republic of China government.

The fourth "relates to the democratic principle and prevalent will of the people of Taiwan," said the new president.

Tsai also pledged that her administration will conduct cross-strait affairs in accordance with the ROC Constitution, the Act Governing Relations between the People of Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, and other relevant legislation.

Under the terms of the act, the relationship between Taiwan and China are one between two "areas," not two states.

During her speech, Tsai said that Taipei and Beijing should set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides of the strait.

She added that her administration is willing to engage in candid exchanges and pursue possibilities for cooperation with the other side of the strait on their common participation in regional development.

As cross-strait relations have become an integral part of building regional peace and collective security, "Taiwan will be a staunch guardian of peace that actively participates and is never absent," she said.

"We will work to maintain peace and stability in cross-strait relations. We will make efforts to facilitate domestic reconciliation, strengthen our democratic institutions, consolidate consensus, and present a united position to the outside world," she added.

Tsai made no mention of the "1992 consensus" in her inaugural speech.

Both Beijing and Taiwan's outgoing government under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) have said that the consensus should serve as a foundation for the development of relations between Taiwan and China.

The consensus refers to an understanding that both sides agree there is only one China, with each side free to interpret its meaning. Tsai and the DPP have never accepted that any such consensus exists.

Compared with Ma's Kuomintang party, Tsai is chairwoman of a party that is more inclined towards Taiwan independence.

(By Elaine Hou)
ENDITEM/J