Lawrence Chung
South China Morning Post
March 5, 2015
President tells a CPPCC panel meeting that independence forces on Taiwan are the biggest barrier to peaceful development of relations.
President Xi Jinping attends the opening of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on Tuesday. Photo: Bloomberg
President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that Beijing was willing to heed the voice of the Taiwanese people on cross-strait ties but called for high vigilance against advocates of independence for the island.
Xi made the remarks during his first reported attendance at panel meetings of this year’s Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
The comments come after the mainland-friendly Kuomintang suffered a landslide defeat in last year’s local government elections – a development that some observers say could herald a win by the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan’s presidential election next year.
Speaking to political advisers from the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League and the All-China Confederation of Taiwan Compatriots, Xi said the “1992 consensus” was the political foundation for Beijing and Taipei to build trust and hold talks to continue peaceful development of cross-strait relations.
“Peace is valuable and should be safeguarded,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
“[Taiwan independence forces] are the biggest hindrance to the peaceful development of cross-strait ties, the biggest threat to cross-strait peace and stability and therefore should be resolutely opposed.”
Xi said that as long as this common political basis was respected, there would be no obstacles to political exchanges with the mainland.
Under a verbal understanding reached in Hong Kong in 1992, Taipei and Beijing agreed to recognise that there is only one China, but each side could have its interpretation of what that “China” stood for.
For Taipei, it stands for the Republic of China and for Beijing it is the People’s Republic of China.
Xi also said it was important for the mainland to maintain its economic progress in order to pave the way for future cross-strait reunification. He also said the mainland was willing to provide a “stage for Taiwanese youth to demonstrate their talents and realise their dreams”.
DPP spokesman Cheng Yun-peng said late last night that “cross-strait exchanges must never be carried out at the expense of Taiwan’s sovereignty and security, and must be done in a way that guarantees freedom, democracy and an open society in Taiwan”.
Cheng said the DPP hoped to develop cross-strait ties in a positive and active manner, and so it felt that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait had the responsibility to maintain amicable relations and should continue to interact and communicate to increase their understanding of each other in a mutually respectful manner.
Wang Kung-yi, a professor of international relations and strategic studies at Tamkang University in Taipei, said Xi’s comments reflected that there was no change in the basic tone of the mainland’s policy towards Taiwan, and that Beijing continued to use the “1992 consensus” as the underlying principle for cross-strait ties.
