SEF official backs new cross-strait framework to replace '1992 consensus'

Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said Monday that a proposed new framework for cross-Taiwan Strait dialogue to replace the "1992 consensus" will help break the "unhealthy" impasse with China.

On Oct. 15, Luo proposed that Taiwan and China could discuss a "Two Six Consensus" at the "Nangan 26 Stronghold" to replace the "1992 consensus" while on a trip to the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands off the coast of China's Fujian Province.

However, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua (陳斌華) told a news conference the next day in Beijing that the "1992 consensus" is the "clear path," adding that it was "unnecessary to create the so-called 'Two Six Consensus.'"

During a radio interview Monday, Luo said China's refusal to consider the proposed new framework proposal was unsurprising but that "we should not give up our hope."

Long-term estrangement is unhealthy for both sides, Luo said, adding that dialogue is the only viable path.

Luo noted that this was the reason behind his proposal and the offer to gift China a pair of sika deer last week.

While the SEF "will always keep its door open for cross-strait negotiations," any damage to the Republic of China's sovereignty and Taiwan's core principles of freedom and democracy is nonnegotiable, Luo said.

Using a "nonexistent" framework not accepted by both parties involved in the talks as the basis for discussing cross-strait relations in the coming 30 or 300 years is inappropriate, he added.

The "1992 consensus" is a tacit understanding reached in 1992 between the then Kuomintang (KMT) government of the ROC and the Chinese government. It has been consistently interpreted by the KMT as an acknowledgment by both sides that there is only "one China," with each side free to interpret what "China" means.

Beijing has never publicly recognized the second part of the KMT's interpretation, and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has never acknowledged the "1992 consensus."

The DPP argued that Beijing allows no room for the ROC's interpretation of "China," and that accepting the so-called "consensus" would imply agreement with China's claim over Taiwan.

The SEF is a semi-official organization tasked by Taiwan's government with handling technical matters involving China.