MAC Press Release No. 032
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) issued the following response to Mr. Terry Gou's op-ed published in The Washington Post yesterday (July 17, 2023), in which Mr. Gou advocated for Taiwan to engage in direct cooperation and negotiation with mainland China under the "one China with respective interpretations" framework.
1. Anyone with the slightest understanding of cross-Strait relations would clearly know that Mr. Gou's so-called "one China with respective interpretations framework" has never existed between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. There is only the "the ‘one China’ principle framework" unilaterally established by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with an intent to eliminate the Republic of China and annex Taiwan. The content of Mr. Gou's op-ed confirms that its author either has absolutely no knowledge of the CCP's political agenda against Taiwan or is deliberately trying to whitewash the CCP's attempt to eliminate the Republic of China and annex Taiwan.
2. In its white paper based on the "one China” principle, the CCP positions the government of the Republic of China as merely a "local authority" in mainland China’s territory; the CCP has also repeatedly interpreted the "1992 Consensus" as the "1992 Consensus embodying the ‘one China’ principle." As a result, by premising cross-Strait dialogue on the "1992 Consensus," the CCP authorities are effectively trying to force Taiwan to interact with them in the capacity of a "local government." This contradicts the fact that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign state and is utterly unacceptable to the people of Taiwan. We also trust that no leader of the Republic of China would hold such political views.
3. The Republic of China is a sovereign state. Taiwan has never been part of the People's Republic of China. The status quo and objective truth in the Taiwan Strait is that "the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other." Since 1996, Taiwan's political and economic environment has gone through a sea change, especially after three times of power transition and seven times of Taiwanese people electing their head of state with their own votes. We believe that the CCP authorities must face the fact that the Republic of China (Taiwan) exists instead of setting preconditions to political dialogue and therefore repeatedly depriving the two sides of opportunities for positive interaction.
4. The government has been consistent in its cross-Strait policy position of handling cross-Strait affairs in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of China and the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area in a commitment to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Since coming into office, President Tsai has firmly upheld the "Four Commitments" and strengthened the "Four Resiliences" to safeguard national sovereignty, democracy, and freedom. Our non-provocative and non-adventurist approach in the Taiwan Strait is internationally affirmed. The global community has also, under the recognition that the CCP is responsible for all the coercion and pressure towards Taiwan, demanded mainland China to not use force in the Taiwan Strait while providing Taiwan with continuous support. We urge the CCP to abandon its rigid ideology and political preconditions and engage in cross-Strait dialogue with an open mind.