MAC Press Release No.016
Regarding former President Ma’s meeting with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping in Beijing today (April 10, 2024), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) issued the following statement.
1. Regarding former President Ma’s visit to mainland China as a private citizen for exchange activities, the government’s long-standing position has always been that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should engage in healthy and orderly exchanges based on reciprocity and dignity, without setting any political preconditions. This is the only way to truly accumulate goodwill and enhance mutual understanding between the two sides.
2. Taiwan is a democratic, free, pluralistic, and open society that embraces wide-ranging opinions and positions. However, maintaining the peaceful and stable cross-Strait status quo and upholding the "Four Commitments" have remained the greatest common denominator of the Taiwanese people. According to the MAC’s latest poll released in April this year, nearly 80% of the people disapprove of the CCP’s insistence that cross-Strait talks can only resume under the "1992 Consensus" embodying the "One China Principle" (78.8%). Nearly 90% of the people support maintaining the peaceful and stable cross-Strait status quo (88.8%), and advocate that Taiwan’s future should be determined by its 23 million people (91.1%).
3. The CCP took advantage of the "Second Ma-Xi Meeting" to step up its propaganda about the "1992 Consensus," "promoting integration and unification," and opposing "Taiwan independence." However, the "1992 Consensus" under Xi Jinping’s definition is "1992 Consensus embodying the One China Principle." This political framework has already been firmly rejected by mainstream public opinion in Taiwan, as it attempts to erode our national sovereignty, and unilaterally set the endgame of cross-Strait relations that leaves no room for the survival of the Republic of China.
4. We must emphasize that the difference between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait does not lie in language or culture, but in political systems and ways of life. We deeply regret that during his meeting with the CCP leader, former President Ma failed to publicly convey Taiwanese people's determination to safeguard the sovereignty of the Republic of China and their insistence on a democratic and free system, a failure that goes against the expectations of Taiwan’s society.
5. Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the shared responsibility of the two sides. At the moment, the CCP continues to exert hybrid pressure on Taiwan through political and military intimidation, diplomatic suppression, economic coercion, etc., in an attempt to force Taiwan to accept its unilaterally formulated "One China" framework. This is the root cause of instability in the Taiwan Strait. The government remains consistent in our policy of preserving the peaceful and stable cross-Strait status quo. We call on the Beijing authorities to respect Taiwan’s mainstream public opinion, face up to the existence of the Republic of China and the objective fact that neither Taiwan nor China is subordinate to the other. Instead of pressuring or intimidating Taiwan, the CCP should seek to resolve differences and issues at hand in a pragmatic, rational, and mutually respectful approach through official cross-Strait dialogue. The CCP should promote positive cross-Strait interactions with practical actions to ensure the well-being and rights of people on both sides.