President Ma Ying-jeou says he hopes Taiwan’s China policy will stay the same after he leaves office.
Ma made the comments on Tuesday while receiving former US Vice President Dan Quayle. Ma said the foundation of his China policy is the 1992 Consensus. In it, both Taiwan and China recognize there is only one China, and both sides are part of it, but they disagree over what that one China means. Ma said his China policy has brought peace and stability to the Taiwan Strait, which is in line with US interests.
Ma said that during his recent visit to the US, many scholars expressed concern about whether the result of Taiwan’s presidential election next year will affect cross-strait relations. It is widely expected that the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, which has traditionally been wary of China, will win the election.
"I’d like to stress that as long as our policy can continue, cross-strait relations will be stable and our relations with the US will also be very smooth," Ma said. "However, if the future administration does not follow the status quo of ‘no unification, no independence, and no use of force’ under the framework of the constitution of the Republic of China or push for cross-strait relations on the basis of the 1992 Consensus and one China, two interpretations, it’ll be difficult to predict what will happen."
The Republic of China is the official name of the government in Taiwan.