News Reference Material
Date: July 26, 2022
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) made the following statement today (July 26, 2022) in response to the propaganda campaigns carried out by mainland China to promote unification. The MAC reiterated that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been a long-standing threat to Taiwan's democratic values and way of life. The CCP authorities defined the "1992 Consensus" under their "one China" principle in an attempt to deny the sovereignty of the Republic of China (ROC). This political framework has never been accepted by Taiwan, nor is it the basis of cross-Strait relations. It has been our government’s consistent policy position to remain committed to safeguarding national sovereignty and Taiwan's democracy. That Taiwan and mainland China are not subordinate to each other is an objective truth and the status quo. To maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, the top priority is for the other side to renounce its military intimidation and aggression against Taiwan and resolve differences in a peaceful and rational manner.
The MAC stressed that, until today, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have never reached any political consensus because the CCP has never respected or faced up to the conviction of the people of Taiwan that the ROC (Taiwan) is a sovereign country. This is the key issue that Beijing cannot sidestep. At the moment, the international community is gravely concerned about the CCP's political and economic expansion, provocation of conflicts in the Taiwan Strait, violations of democracy and freedom, disregard of the rules-based international order, and coercion of other countries to concede to its fallacious political views and behavior. These are serious challenges that have led to the escalation of regional instability and risk.
President Tsai also emphasized today that Taiwan is an indispensable member of the democratic allies in the Indo-Pacific region. As long as democratic countries remain united, we can stop authoritarian expansion and allow democracy to develop and flourish. The MAC indicated that the future of Taiwan will be jointly decided by its 23 million people. We will not accept the political preconditions, political endgames, or the path unilaterally set by the CCP. The CCP authorities should have a sound judgement of the situation and shoulder their international responsibilities. Only by renouncing the use of force against Taiwan, peacefully resolving differences, and pragmatically facing the consensus of Taiwanese people on the "four commitments" can the two sides begin positive interaction and healthy exchanges.