Frank Hsieh Questions Su Tseng-chang’s Proposal to Deal with Cross-Strait Relations
Source: Taipei newspapers February 17, 2011
In an interview yesterday with the Liberty Times, a pro-independence newspaper in Taiwan, former Premier Su Tseng-chang proposed what he called a “Taiwan Consensus” as the basis for dealing with cross-Strait relations, although he did not clearly define what the “Taiwan Consensus” actually was.
Su told the newspaper that his proposal on cross-Strait relations was based on the DPP’s 1999 Resolution on Taiwan’s Future, which defines Taiwan as a sovereign country while recognizing the Republic of China (ROC) as the country’s formal title.
However, Su’s remarks drew criticism from his DPP comrade Frank Hsieh. Hsieh said that although there was no big problem with Su’s concept of a “Taiwan Consensus” in dealing with cross-Strait relations, the question was, “how to oppose the principle of ‘One China, Different Interpretations?’”
Hsieh went on to ask, “Do you accept the ROC Constitution in its entirety?”
“No matter what, the most important thing is that you have to propose countermeasures,” said Hsieh.
On February 15, Hsieh told the media, “Tsai Ing-wen enjoys a high approval rating. After Tsai makes a decision (about whether or not she would run in the 2012 Presidential election), I will then make my own decision.” The media, therefore, speculated that Hsieh was publicly declaring that he could support Tsai Ing-wen. However, when asked by the media about who he would support, Tsai Ing-wen or Su Tseng-chang, Hsieh responded that it was no good to comment publicly.
Hsieh said, “Su’s concept of a “Taiwan Consensus” was based on the DPP’s 1999 Resolution on Taiwan’s Future. There is no problem with that. However, the DPP opposes cross-Strait relations being based on the principle of ‘One China, Different Interpretations.’ I believe that Su opposes that idea, too. So, the question is what are his countermeasures?”
In a press conference on January 10, Hsieh proposed that the ruling and the opposition parties could build what he called a “Constitutional consensus” and use the principle of “Constitutional consensus” to replace the “1992 Consensus/One China, Different Interpretations” as a basis to forge a consensus among local parties in dealing with cross-Strait relations. However, Hsieh’s remarks drew heavy criticisms from his comrades within his own party and some nativist groups because they argued that Hsieh’s remarks had weakened the DPP’s position on Taiwan’s sovereignty.