MAC Press Release No. 008
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today (July 1, 2021) issued the following statement in response to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader’s address at the celebration of the CCP’s centenary:
1. From the beginning of the CCP’s rule of mainland China, mainland China has brought about a certain level of economic growth through implementing the "reform and opening-up" policy based on the free market economic system operating in the West; however, the CCP’s one-party dictatorship has also resulted in suppression of democracy and violation of human rights and freedom in mainland China. Under current leadership, the CCP has been touting the false pretext of “national rejuvenation” as a tool. Internally, it escalates the authoritarian dictatorship on its people and backtracks its economy by conducting the “state enterprises advance and private companies retreat” policy. Externally, it seeks to disrupt the rule-based international order and demonstrate its ambition to achieve regional and global hegemony. The CCP’s moves fraught with historical policy misjudgment and persistent detriment have posed serious threat to regional security and global democracy and freedom.
2. The meaning of history lies in reminding people not to repeat mistakes. We call on the other side of the Taiwan Strait to truly "learn from history," promote a competitive party system in line with democratic politics, respect human rights, answer people’s call for democracy, and promptly implement political reforms to transfer power back to its people. Meanwhile, the CCP should stop relying on its strength to bully weak countries with coercive political frameworks and actions when dealing with other countries. Only this will truly make the CCP a responsible stakeholder in maintaining regional peace.
3. Democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law are the core values held dear by the Taiwanese society; these democratic values completely contradict the authoritarian political system of mainland China. The key to maintaining cross-Strait relations lies in mutual respect, goodwill and understanding. The 23 million people of Taiwan have already rejected the CCP's unilateral "one China” principle and "1992 Consensus" a long time ago. The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is consistent in its determination to firmly safeguard national sovereignty, democracy, and freedom in Taiwan and to strive to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. We call on the Beijing authorities to face up to the cross-Strait reality and respect the steadfast stance of Taiwan’s public opinion on the future development of cross-Strait relations. Only when mainland China casts aside its compulsory political frameworks and military intimidation and takes Taiwan's main proposal of "peace, parity, democracy, and dialogue" seriously will the two sides across the Taiwan Strait possibly engage in benign interactions and sustainable development of relations.