President Ma Ying-jeou says that he will consult with President-elect Tsai Ing-wen on important decisions in the run up to the May 20 inauguration.
Ma told a group of Hong Kong-based Taiwanese businessmen Thursday that he has met with Tsai. He said he will cooperate with Tsai in the final weeks before she takes office. Ma said that he will work to the very end of his term, saying that his administration will not act as a caretaker government.
Ma also spoke about his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last year and the hotline recently set up between Taipei and Beijing. He said that during the meeting he and Xi Jinping both reaffirmed their commitment to the 1992 Consensus.
Under the 1992 Consensus, Taiwan and China both agree that they belong to “one China” while keeping separate interpretations of what “one China” means. Ma said he told Xi Jinping that Taiwan will not push for “two Chinas” or for independence, as either move would go against Taiwan’s own constitution.
Ma said that the Taipei-Beijing hotline is a tool for exchange that future presidents can use, provided that they hold to the 1992 Consensus.