On Monday, January 1, 2024, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) delivered her final New Year’s speech in office. She says Taiwan and the cross-strait relations’ future must be determined by Taiwanese people through the democratic system.
Tsai, who has served eight years as the head of the country, told reporters that China’s 1992 consensus, one-China principle, and one country, two systems concepts are ultimately the same and that they undermine the Constitution. She pointed out that Taiwan and China had never reached a consensus in 1992, and that the definition of the deemed consensus was changed to accommodate China’s “one China principle.”
Tsai says while she cannot change other political parties’ ideologies, she has given the people of Taiwan a deeper understanding of the world and the nature of cross-strait relations. She adds that the future will be determined through the principles of democracy and the common will of the Taiwanese people.