Former Senator Christopher Dodd (second from right), former Deputy Secretary of State Amitage (first from right) and former Deputy Secretary of State Steinberg (center) depart Taiwan on April 16, 2021, on a U.S. jet.
Former Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), who was asked by President Joe Biden to lead a delegation to Taiwan, left Taiwan on Friday (16) to return home. Before he left Taiwan, he met with six Taiwanese legislators in an undisclosed manner. The members of the meeting revealed that the “1992 Consensus” had become a concern for the U.S. side and spent 20 minutes discussing it; a member of the committee summarized the views of the participants and agreed that there was no longer a market for the “1992 Consensus” in Taiwan. The KMT legislators who support the “1992 Consensus” reiterated that the “1992 Consensus” did exist and that the party is currently discussing a new cross-strait discourse. (Zhong Guangzheng reported from Taipei)
When members of the former U.S. Senator Dodd’s delegation met with Taiwan legislators, the first question surrounded the issue of “1992 Consensus”. DPP legislator Luo Zhi-cheng, who attended the meeting, confirmed to the media that when the two sides met on Thursday (15), the U.S. side began by asking the KMT legislator, “What is the KMT’s current position on the ‘1992 Consensus’?”
Luo said: “The KMT legislators have tried their best to defend their “1992 Consensus” and tried to make the U.S. side understand their position. They spent a lot of time explaining their position. The other party members basically followed the KMT’s argument and put forward different views, so the whole discussion was very lively, with about 20 minutes spent on the “1992 Consensus” alone.
According to Luo’s analysis, the U.S. wants to learn more about the market for the “1992 Consensus” in Taiwan, or how useful it is for dealing with cross-strait issues.
Luo said: “Indeed, according to many polls, the “1992 Consensus” has not received much public recognition and support within Taiwan. Especially recently, the spokesman from the other side of the Taiwan Strait has publicly stated that the Republic of China no longer exists, and the KMT represents the so-called orthodoxy of the whole China, so even China has slapped the KMT in the face. The U.S. has in fact also slapped the KMT in the face, because the U.S. government is no longer referring to the so-called “1992 Consensus”. So the KMT is not happy both inside and outside the country, the US does not support their so-called “1992 Consensus” abroad, China has slapped the KMT’s “1992 Consensus” in the face, and more importantly, the domestic public does not support their “1992 Consensus”. “Therefore, the KMT is unpleasant on three sides.
Invited non-partisan legislator Lin Chang-zuo criticized the KMT’s repeated arguments for the “1992 Consensus” over the decades, but these are not the same as Taiwan’s current public opinion.
On April 16, 2021, non-party member Lin Chang-zuo: Taiwan public opinion does not support the “One China” and “1992 Consensus” arguments. (Photo by Chung Kwong-ching)
Lin Chang-zuo said: Of course, the presence of Wang Dingyu (Democratic Progressive Party), Luo Zhi-zheng and I, of course, especially to let the U.S. side know that in fact, the “1992 Consensus” should be considered important in recent years in Taiwan’s elections, it should be said that the attitude towards China is quite an important issue in several elections in recent years. Taiwan’s public opinion is also very clear that it does not support the “One China” and “1992 Consensus” arguments, so no matter how the KMT repeats and repeats their arguments over the decades, it is not the same as Taiwan’s current public opinion.
KMT legislator Chiang Wan-an said he also expressed to the U.S. side the KMT’s three views on this statement.
Chiang Wan-an said: “The 1992 Consensus is not “one country, two systems”, and we firmly oppose “one country, two systems”. Secondly, the “1992 Consensus” did exist and was the basis for cross-strait exchanges in the past. Thirdly, if the “1992 Consensus” is not accepted by the majority of the public, there have been discussions within the KMT as to whether a new concrete and feasible discourse can be proposed.
The delegation led by former U.S. Senator Dodd left Taiwan on a special flight at noon on Friday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan issued a statement expressing its sincere gratitude to the U.S. government and former Senator Dodd and others for their firm support and deep friendship to Taiwan. The relevant departments of the Republic of China government will continue to work with the Biden administration to further deepen the close partnership between Taiwan and the U.S. in various fields, in light of the results of the discussions between the two sides.
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