News Reference Material
Date: February 09, 2023
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) issued the following statement today (February 9, 2023) in regards to the remarks made by mainland China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao during his meeting with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice-Chairman Andrew Hsia. The MAC reiterated that "the two sides across the Taiwan Strait are not subordinate to each other" is the objective truth and status quo of the cross-Strait situation. All exchanges and dialogue should be based on equality and dignity without any unreasonable political preconditions or frameworks. In the meeting with persons from Taiwan, the authorities of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) brought up their so-called overall strategy for "fully resolving the Taiwan issue" in an unequivocal attempt to deliberately highlight that the CCP’s Taiwan policy objective is to downgrade our sovereignty and undermine our dignity.
The MAC emphasized that the Beijing authorities’ definition of the "1992 Consensus" encompasses elements of “the ’one China' principle, seeking unification, and agreeing to ‘one country, two systems.’" This framework has been used as the precondition for cross-Strait interaction with an intent to undermine the sovereignty of the Republic of China and downgrade Taiwan. The fact that the KMT and CCP found a common ground on the "1992 Consensus" is unacceptable to the people of Taiwan. In exchange activities, members of Taiwan's political parties should solemnly defend Taiwan and fully reflect the firm stance of the Taiwan public on safeguarding our sovereignty and democracy and opposing military coercion. It is highly inappropriate for anyone to cater to mainland China's united front operations.
The MAC indicated that our government's consistent policy is to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, a policy that has earned affirmation and support of the international community and the Taiwan public. We call on the Beijing authorities to respect the cross-Strait reality and renounce their assertive and coercive mentality, united front operations, and military saber-rattling against Taiwan. They should mend their authoritarian and expansionist behavior and handle cross-Strait relations in a responsible manner.