Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), held its 20th National Congress recently and proposed a new cross-strait discourse, confirming the continuation of the 1992 Consensus based on the Constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), but the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) criticized it as nothing new and not in line with mainstream public opinion in Taiwan.
Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), held its 20th 4th National Party Congress on September 6, and made a final report on the cross-strait discourse: it was decided to continue the 1992 Consensus (one China, separate expressions) based on the ROC Constitution, and to continue to promote cross-strait exchanges and dialogues to avoid war; at the same time, progress in cross-strait relations should not be made at the expense of free and democratic compromise, but rather should highlight Taiwan’s valuable experience in implementing freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.
The conference also put forward eight propositions, including that official consultations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait must face up to the ROC’s constitutional order, official interaction between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait must respect the fact that the ROC exists, as well as oppose Taiwan’s independence and the Chinese Communist Party’s “one country, two systems,” that the mainland should abandon the use of force against Taiwan, and that Taiwan should simultaneously promote cross-Strait contacts and Taiwan-U.S. cooperation.
In response, the spokesperson for Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Yan Ruofang, said that the KMT’s “new cross-strait discourse” is essentially nothing new, nothing spectacular, not only is the content of old wine, even the bottle is not willing to change the new, it is simply “old wine in old bottles”, that is, not in line with Taiwan’s mainstream public opinion, but also highlights the powerlessness of the KMT’s young and strong faction to strive for reform.
The new KMT Chairman Jiang Qichen should get rid of the old baggage and show the boldness to bring in a new atmosphere, Yan Ruofang added.
However, former KMT spokesman and legislator Hong Meng-kai said, “Regardless of whether the cross-strait discussion is new or not, the point is that the KMT’s basic core values are once again recognized by more than 1,000 delegates.
There are many ways to reinterpret the core values, but our basic position remains the same,” he said.
Hong also said that the 1992 Consensus is a consensus between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and in promoting it, apart from explaining it, it is more important to win the trust of the Taiwanese people so that the KMT can be in power again and promote the peaceful and stable development of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
In an interview with the Voice of America, Ching-Feng Lu, Associate Professor of International and Mainland Affairs at Golden Gate University, said that the KMT is currently adopting a more conservative strategy in the face of fierce competition between the U.S. and China.
He said, “After 520, Tsai still doesn’t accept the 1992 Consensus, but Beijing still emphasizes the need for the Tsai government to accept the Consensus, so the pan-blue camp and the KMT have a basic interface with Beijing, which I think may not be the worst for the KMT.”
Prof. Lu also pointed out that the 2020 Taiwan presidential election was basically a blue-green versus the 1992 Consensus election, and Tsai won with 8.17 million votes, which shows that the majority of the public does not agree with the 1992 Consensus and shows that the KMT is out of touch with mainstream public opinion.
The KMT’s priority at the moment is not to win the votes of young people, but to connect with Beijing and maintain stable cross-strait relations.
Taiwan media reported that the Chinese side will hold the “Straits Forum” in Xiamen on September 20, and the KMT plans to have a delegation led by former legislative president Wang Jinping attend.
In addition, it is also forbidden for organizations, individuals, and political parties to participate in any form of activities involving the “One Country, Two Systems Taiwan Proposal” or “democratic consultation,” and if they violate the National Security Law and the Anti-Infiltration Law, they will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
In response, Wang Jinping said in an interview with the media that he has not yet made a final confirmation with the KMT Central Committee, and that he personally hopes to go there someday.
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