Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟)

Taipei, May 4 (CNA) The opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Monday raised the alarm over remarks made by Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) in Beijing, contending that Chu accepted China's preferred interpretation of the "1992 consensus."

Chu's comments during a meeting with Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping on Monday will contribute to further constraints on Taiwan's ability to participate in the international community in the future, party members said.

Chu said during the meeting that he hoped to see Taiwan and China bolster collaboration on improving environmental conservation, regional security and economic development in the Asia-Pacific based on the foundation established in the "1992 consensus."

The KMT sees the "1992 consensus" as a tacit understanding reached in 1992 between Taiwan and China that there is one China, with the two sides free to interpret what that means.

DPP Chairwomen Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said she was alarmed by Chu's wish to serve as the custodian of the "1992 consensus" legacy and progress made in the decade since the groundbreaking meeting between then-KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and CPC General Secretary Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) in 2005.

Although the 2005 meeting is often lauded as the highest level of exchanges between the KMT and the CPC since 1945, Tsai accused Chu of intending to limit cross-strait relations to exchanges and dealings between the CPC and KMT.

Cross-strait relations must not be defined and determined by political parties, she said, but must reflect the will of the Taiwan's people and government.

Tsai hoped that Chu will give the people an adequate explanation of what was discussed during his visits to Beijing and Shanghai.

Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟), a DPP lawmaker who also serves as the director of his party's Department of Chinese Affairs, accused Chu of openly altering President Ma Ying-jeou's definition of the "1992 consensus."

He cited Chu as saying publicly that "the two sides of the strait belong to one China," a position that he argued tilted closer to Beijing's "one China framework" that allows no ambiguity over how "one China" is interpreted.

The acceptance of Beijing's "one China framework," Chao said, is tantamount to conceding the sovereignty of the Republic of China and further limit Taiwan's presence on the international stage.

(By Yeh Su-ping and Ted Chen)
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