Who Is Imposing Self-Restrictions: the 1992 Consensus Is Equal to One Country, Two Systems?

 Who Is Imposing Self-Restrictions: the 1992 Consensus Is Equal to One Country, Two Systems?

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

January 7, 2019

 Translation of an Excerpt

Recently, President Tsai utilized the opportunity of Xi Jinping's delivery of the "program of one country, two systems for Taiwan,” coupled with the forceful counterattack on the issue of the African swine flu, to forestall the attempt to force her to abandon her re-election bid by four Taiwan independence elders on the one hand, and on the other, to seize the opportunity to demand that all political parties in the country no longer refer to the "1992 Consensus" again. With such a stream of hot rhetoric, Tsai Ing-wen used the CCP to cleanse her own wounds, at the same time completely forgetting her accountability for the electoral defeat.

In as much as the proposition of one country, two systems lacks a market in Taiwan, the people in Taiwan mostly adopt the attitude of reservations vis-à-vis Xi Jinping's talk this time; such atmospherics, however, have given the Tsai government an exceptionally ample space for manipulations. Chen Ming-tong, chairman of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, first lambasted Xi’s statement for exposing Beijing’s ambitions to "exterminate the Republic of China"; President Tsai Ing-wen even equated the "1992 Consensus" with "one country, two systems," demanding that all political parties not refer to the phrase "1992 Consensus." Thus, it can be seen that Xi Jinping’s talk was not only used by Tsai Ing-wen to whitewash her own mistaken cross-Strait policies, but she even borrowed Beijing’s strength to constrain other political parties in the country. Such sly operations were precisely utilizing diplomatic strategy to shift the focus of failures in domestic governance. Once the goal is achieved, she could thus easily shake off her accountability for the electoral defeat and loss of popular trust.

Tsai Ing-wen could say that this was not good, and she didn’t want that; she didn’t want “the 1992 Consensus,” nor “the two sides of the Strait are like family.” The problem is, does she have a proposition to seek peaceful cross-Strait coexistence? The answer, however, is negative. Taking a further step, Xi Jinping reset the keynote of the “1992 Consensus” as "erecting both sides of the Strait belong to one China on the foundation of the one-China principle." Strictly speaking, this is the CCP’s long-term, consistent advocacy; our side can still advocate what we insist: "one China is on the Republic of China" based on the Constitution of the Republic of China. This is precisely the spirit of "one China, different interpretations." Tsai Ing-wen herself stubbornly imposed self-restrictions, refusing to recognize the “1992 Consensus,” but demanded that people of all Taiwan jettison the “1992 Consensus” and the “one China, different interpretations.” What logic is this? Just imagine, the Ma Ying-jeou administration used the 1992 Consensus to promote extensive cross-Strait peaceful exchanges, but the Tsai government insisted on "maintaining the status quo" without the 1992 Consensus. And then what?

Xi Jinping brought up the "one country, two systems" initiative; it indeed has not been welcomed by the people in Taiwan. The fact that Tsai Ing-wen seized the opportunity to demand that all political parties jettison the "1992 Consensus" is all the more high-handed and foolish. When a leader imposes self-restrictions, it shall be a peril to the country.

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