A senior Taiwanese official says Taiwan is already its own master and its people have rejected the path of unification with China. Those words came on Thursday from Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng, who is in charge of handling cross-strait affairs.
On Wednesday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Taiwan will finally be its own master after unification with China. The office said only then will Taiwan be secure internationally and have dignity.
In response, Deputy Minister Chiu said Taiwan has already become a democracy, making it its own master. He says Taiwan’s democracy has long resisted the threat from China, and will not follow Beijing’s path.
Chiu also says Taiwan rejects the so-called 1992 Consensus. Thirty years ago, Taiwan's Kuomintang government and Beijing supposedly agreed that Taiwan is part of China. But the two sides agreed to disagree over who is China's legitimate government.
Chiu says the consensus leaves no space for Taiwan’s existence and has been long rejected by the Taiwanese public.