The president then addressed cross-strait relations, noting that 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. To date, the two sides have signed 21 agreements, transforming the Taiwan Strait from a "killing field" into a "peaceful arena," he said. In addition, over the past seven years mainland Chinese have made over 14 million visits to Taiwan, nearly four million in 2014 alone. The heads of the agencies on either side responsible for cross-strait affairs met three times last year and addressed each other by their official titles, which was an unprecedented development, said the president.
The president commented that Germany in the 1970s addressed relations between the two Germanys based on the "one Germany, two states" concept (ein Deutschland – zwei Staaten), which inspired him in promoting cross-strait relations. Also, East and West Germany in 1972 signed the Basic Treaty (Grundlagenvertrag), which separates sovereignty from governing authority, and is similar to his advocacy of the "mutual non-recognition of sovereignty, and mutual non-denial of governing authority" concept for both sides of the Taiwan Strait. These kinds of ideas can serve as a reference point for Taiwan in handling cross-strait relations, the president stated.
【Source: Office of the President】