President Ma Ying-jeou has continued to press opposition leader Tsai Ing-wen on her pledge to maintain the status quo in relations with China if she is elected president.
Tsai is the chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the DPP’s chosen candidate for the 2016 presidential election. The ruling Kuomintang (KMT), has yet to choose a candidate for the election. However, Ma, who is preparing to finish his second term, will not be eligible to run again.
Tsai has said that more than 70% of the population supports maintaining the status quo. But on Thursday, Ma called on Tsai to clarify what she meant by the “status quo”, and how she would maintain it.
"Everyone knows that the public supports the status quo. The Mainland Affairs Council had an even higher statistic – about 80%," Ma said. "Everybody supports maintaining the status quo, but the question is, what "status quo" do the people want? Is it the status quo of now? Or the status quo of seven years ago?"
Tsai responded by saying that the president "doesn’t know what the people of Taiwan care about". But Ma said that the people’s needs are clear, and that they want to maintain the status quo which he as president has spent seven years creating. That status quo, he said, is cross-strait peace and prosperity which are a foundation for further peaceful development.
"If your status quo is the status quo that 80% of Taiwanese need, then why is the DPP always criticizing me for 'pandering to China and selling out Taiwan'? Is it possible that Chairwoman Tsai wants to continue the status quo of 'pandering to China and selling out Taiwan'?" Ma said. "If not, then please tell us what your version of the status quo is. And at the same time, tell us how you plan to maintain peace and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait without using the ’92 Consensus or [a policy of] 'one China, with different interpretations.'"
The ’92 Consensus refers to a tacit agreement that Taiwan and China reached in 1992. Under that agreement, there is only one China, although each side may have its own interpretation of what that means.
President Ma Ying-jeou maintains that the 1992 Consensus is conducive to peace and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait. The opposition DPP, on the other hand, has traditionally rejected the concept of “one China.” That’s because, they say, Taiwan has been ruled separately from China for more than 65 years.
Ma said that Tsai, as a candidate for president, cannot dodge questions about relations with China.