Turning to cross-strait relations, the president explained to Senior Official Wang that he has emphasized repeatedly in recent years that the "1992 Consensus" is crucial to ensuring cross-strait peace and prosperity. The two sides in the future should continue to build mutual trust and promote peaceful development on this foundation, the president said.
The president furthermore stated that over the past seven years, the ROC government has consistently sought, under the framework of the ROC Constitution, to maintain the status quo of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" in the Taiwan Strait, and to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait ties under the "1992 Consensus," whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means. The two sides have signed 21 agreements to date, creating the "current status quo." The president stressed that working to maintain the status quo has been the correct policy, as efforts in this regard have enabled the two sides to establish mutual trust.
The president commented that last year the heads of the agencies on both sides responsible for cross-strait affairs met in Nanjing, Taipei, and Beijing, during which they referred to each other using their official titles. This shows that cross-strait relations are becoming more and more institutionalized and normalized, he said, adding that the ROC's Mainland Affairs Council Minister Andrew L. Y. Hsia (夏立言) and Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) of the mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council will meet in the near future in Kinmen.
President Ma stated that he will continue to push for the signing of the Cross-Strait Trade in Goods Agreement over his remaining term in office, as well as the establishment of reciprocal representative offices. At the same time, Taiwan will seek to participate in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and other multilateral regional economic organizations under the conditions of "dignity and equality" in order to expand bilateral economic cooperation and assist in the development of developing countries around the world.
【Source: Office of the President】