MAC denies existence of '92 consensus,' says it castrates Taiwan

Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) There has never been a "1992 consensus" between Taiwan and China, and Taiwan must not acknowledge it, to prevent from being castrated by China, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) said on Thursday.

Speaking at a regular news conference one day after Chinese President Xi Jinping's (習近平) speech toward Taiwan, Chen said the two sides have never forged such a consensus, with which Beijing intends to downgrade Taiwan by unifying with the island under a "one country, two systems" model.

Chen called for solidarity among Taiwan's people in the face of mounting pressure from China.

He said China is pressuring Taiwan to accept the "1992 consensus" under its "one China principle" framework that dictates that there is only one China and Taiwan is a part of it. He noted that "China" usually refers to the People's Republic of China (PRC), rather than the Republic of China (Taiwan), in the international community.

According to Chen, it was China who turned down Taiwan's proposal to put the part "the two sides are free to interpret what 'one China' means" on record, following a meeting between then Kuomintang government officials and Chinese communist officials in Hong Kong in 1992.

"Therefore, no such consensus exists between Taiwan and China, either in a written or verbal form," he stressed.

The "1992 consensus" refers to a tacit agreement reached in 1992 between the then KMT government of Taiwan and Chinese communist officials that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is only "one China." The KMT has insisted both sides agreed that each side is free to interpret what "China" means.

But as China increasingly exercises greater pressure on Taiwan, Beijing has focused only on the "one China" part of the agreement, while intentionally forgoing the "free interpretation" element.

Commenting on the KMT's insistence that the key part of the "1992 consensus" lies in the "free interpretation" part, Chen said he respects the KMT's stance, but asked it to come up with documents to prove that both sides accept the free interpretation of "one China."

The MAC chief made the comments after Xi said on Wednesday in a speech to mark the 40th anniversary of China's "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan" that Taiwan "must and will be" united with China.

In response to Xi's rhetoric, Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said later Thursday that what Xi said sounded like psychological propaganda toward Taiwan's people.

"But no matter what he said, either 'unification' or 'one country, two systems," it is against the willingness of the people in Taiwan and will not gain their support," Lai said.