President Ma Ying-jeou has outlined his hopes for the future of cross-strait relations.
At a forum on Wednesday, Ma said he has three specific hopes for the future development of ties with Mainland China. He said he would like to see a consolidation of peace in the Taiwan Strait and the continuation of the cross-strait status quo. He also said he hopes Taiwan will uphold the 1992 Consensus.
Under the 1992 Consensus, Beijing and Taipei agree that both sides belong to one China, while maintaining separate interpretations of what “one China” means. For Taipei, one China is taken to mean the Republic of China, which is Taiwan’s official name.
Ma said that this “One China, Two Interpretations” approach is in keeping with the Constitution of the Republic of China, Taiwan’s fundamental law.
"The Constitution of the Republic of China and the 1992 Consensus are two sides of the same coin. The 1992 Consensus is based on the Republic of China’s position on cross-strait relations- that is, one Republic of China, two areas. This is expressly stated in Additional Article 11 of the Republic of China Constitution," said Ma, "What’s very important is that “One China, Two Interpretations” is not “One China, Just Any Interpretation”. The interpretation has to be based on the Constitution. There’s nothing else for us to interpret. There’s just the Republic of China."
Ma said that polling conducted after last year’s Ma-Xi Meeting showed that 51% of Taiwan’s people support this interpretation.
Ma also said he hopes to see progress on agreements governing cross-strait trade in goods and services, as well as efforts to set up cross-strait representative offices.
Ma will be leaving office on May 20 after completing two terms as president.