Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has strongly objected to the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) delegation’s meeting with a top Chinese official on Thursday. The delegation, lead by KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言), met with the head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Song Tao (宋涛) on Thursday. The KMT delegation is in Beijing for a 10-day visit from February 8 to 17.
The MAC said that the strategy proposed by Song to “practically resolve the Taiwan issue” shows China’s intent to downgrade Taiwan’s sovereignty. They say that China’s interpretation of the 1992 Consensus requires adhering to a one-China principle and a “one country, two systems” model that Taiwan’s people cannot accept. They added that there should be no political preconditions for cross-strait talks.
Hsia and his delegation met with Song at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on Thursday in Beijing. At the meeting Hsia and Song spoke for 40 minutes. Hsia proposed “three requests and concerns,” including to maintain all former cross-strait agreements, to overcome logistical difficulties to cross-strait exchanges, and to lower tensions between the two sides in order to pursue peace.
He said the two sides should use dialogue to resolve their biases and build mutual trust.
Chinese state media said that China is willing to enhance exchanges and build up mutual trust with the KMT based on the common political foundation of upholding the 1992 Consensus and opposing Taiwan Independence. They added that analysts said the “KMT hopes to send a message to Taiwan society that the DPP can't ease cross-Straits tensions, but the KMT can.”