The KMT has taken a backward step and continues to embrace the “1992 Consensus, One China Table”.

In Taiwan, the KMT held a party congress on Sunday (6), and through a cross-strait discourse of outside concerns, will continue the 1992 Consensus based on the ROC Constitution, respect the existence of the Republic of China and other eight major ideas, former party chairman Ma Ying-jeou expressed support. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators believe that the KMT’s re-embrace of the 1992 Consensus is a victory for the party’s Chinese buyers and Xi Jinping, and ignores the voices of the party’s younger generation calling for reform. (Zhong Guangzheng reports from Taipei)

When KMT Chairman Jiang Qichen was elected at the beginning of the year, he did not send a congratulatory telegram to the new KMT Chairman for the first time because of his political views that the “1992 Consensus” has become a thing of the past and his plans to formulate a new cross-strait discourse aroused China’s suspicion.

The KMT held a party congress on Sunday after several discussions within the party, and put forward eight proposals for cross-strait policy, with the main focus on the continuation of the “1992 Consensus” based on the ROC Constitution, and a firm opposition to “Taiwan independence” and “one country, two systems.

Jiang Qichen said that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has always led to the collapse of cross-strait peace and mutual trust. Faced with the current situation, he advocated that we should continue to promote cross-strait exchanges and dialogues to reverse the malicious spiral towards war and avoid a recurrence of the Cold War.

We believe that the Constitution of the Republic of China (ROC) not only establishes democracy and freedom in Taiwan, but also connects the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, providing a legal foundation for cross-strait exchanges and a rock for stabilizing cross-strait relations,” said Jiang Qichen. The KMT’s traditional formulation of the “1992 Consensus and One China Table” is based on the Constitution. Therefore, we advocate that the 1992 Consensus, which is based on the Constitution of the Republic of China, should be used to continue cross-strait interaction and to seek ways to keep pace with the times.

Former Party Chairman Ma Ying-jeou pointed out that the “1992 Consensus” consists of “one China, separate tables”, and that “one China” is the Republic of China (ROC), so it is fully consistent with the Constitution. Young people should accept it if they understand the reality of the situation across the Taiwan Strait.

Ma Ying-jeou said: “In fact, young people do not necessarily understand what the “1992 Consensus” is all about. If you ask him whether he agrees that the CCP should face up to the existence of the Republic of China, or if he agrees, what are you going to do about it? Do you want the CCP to hold a press conference to announce it? Impossible. The “one China, each table” is a euphemistic way of accepting the existence of the ROC. Since he declared in 1949 that the ROC had been eliminated, there was no going back, but in this way he could maintain peace between the two sides and prevent war from breaking out in the Taiwan Strait.

The KMT’s chairman, Jiang Qichen, said after his election that he listened to the opinions of various sectors to reformulate the KMT’s cross-strait thesis, and now he is using the “1992 Consensus” again, whether he is under pressure from the older generation in the party. In the past few years, the KMT has been working on a number of new projects, including the development of a new “China Consensus” and a new “Taiwan Consensus”. The direction of the ROC is not at all contrary.

Lien Shengwen, vice chairman of the KMT think tank, said that not all young people want to go to war, and I believe many of them want to seek common ground while reserving differences and win-win peace across the Taiwan Strait.

If we define the “1992 Consensus” as putting aside controversies, seeking common ground while reserving differences, and striving for a win-win situation, I don’t think the spirit of the past ten years or the next ten years will be devoid of novelty, because it is a foundation of mutual trust. I believe in peace and mutual help between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and moving forward in a positive direction.

DPP legislator Wang Dingyu said that the KMT has decided to continue to embrace the illusory “1992-China”. In the KMT, Ma Ying-jeou won, Lien Chan won, the KMT’s old elite, the Chinese Buyers’ Gang, won, and the Chinese Communist Party’s Xi Jinping smiled!

Wang Dingyu pointed out that Xi Jinping has already used “one country, two systems” to implement the “1992 Consensus” one-China proposal in January 2019, and there is no longer “each table”. After the 2020 presidential election, the KMT young generation’s demand for reform of the “1992 Consensus” on China has been completely ignored.