KMT official's 'shared heritage' pitch at China forum draws MAC rebuke

Taipei, June 13 (CNA) Kuomintang (KMT) Vice Chairman Chang Jung‑kung's (張榮恭) argument at a forum in China that shared heritage be used to boost cross-Taiwan Strait ties has been criticized by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) for echoing Beijing's narrative.

Ahead of the Straits Forum in Xiamen, Chang's delegation met with Wang Huning (王滬寧), a senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CCP) and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the KMT said.

Chang's speech

Addressing the meeting, Chang said that shared cultural and historical ties across the Taiwan Strait, including common Chinese heritage and ancestral links between Fujian and Taiwan, could be a basis for closer cross-strait relations.

"Across the Taiwan Strait, especially between Fujian and Taiwan, there are such deep historical ties. In terms of cultural and ethnic genes, Taiwanese are also Chinese," Chang was quoted in the KMT's statement as saying.

Chang said active KMT-CCP ties and people-to-people exchanges are key to maintaining peaceful cross-strait relations and stability amid the absence of official communication channels, which Beijing suspended in 2016 after the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) returned to office in Taiwan following eight years of KMT rule.

These exchanges deserve recognition and support from all sectors in Taiwan and across the region, and also demonstrate that upholding the "1992 consensus" and opposing Taiwan independence is a completely correct position and direction, Chang said.

The "1992 consensus" is a contested framework for cross-strait relations, which the KMT says was an understanding reached in 1992 between the then KMT government and Beijing that there is "one China," with each side free to interpret what that means.

The DPP rejected it, and that along with the party's support for a sovereign Taiwan independent of the People's Republic of China prompted Beijing to cut off official talks in 2016.

At the opening ceremony of the Straits Forum, Wang Huning said China adheres to the "one China principle" and the "1992 consensus," stressing peaceful cross-strait development, opposition to separation, and promotion of exchanges and integration, aiming to advance "national reunification" and long-term national well-being.

In Taiwan, the MAC issued a statement expressing deep regret over opposition figures "echoing the CCP's distorted narrative."

MAC response

Stalled cross-strait communications stemmed from Beijing's refusal to acknowledge the existence of the Republic of China, its imposition of political preconditions for dialogue, and its lack of a pragmatic approach toward Taiwan's mainstream public opinion, the MAC argued.

Some opposition figures visiting China and echoing Beijing's narratives on national rejuvenation and strained cross-strait ties worsen divisions in Taiwan, weaken democratic resilience, and do little to improve relations, the MAC said.

Their actions also wrongly suggest to the international community that Taiwan accepts China's preconditions for dialogue, the MAC said.

Now in its 18th edition, the Straits Forum, organized by China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) and the Fujian provincial government, was held under the theme "Expanding people-to-people exchanges and deepening integrated development," according to TAO.

Taiwan's MAC has barred central and local government officials from attending the event, expanding a ban that previously applied only to central government personnel.

Aside from the KMT delegation, KMT lawmaker Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) of Kinmen County and representatives from smaller opposition parties also attended, local media reported.