2016年CRI 1992 Consensus Basis for Regular Contact Between Cross-Straits Affairs Authorities: Mainland

 

The State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office says only by confirming an adherence¹ to the 1992 Consensus² can regular cross-Straits communications continue.

Meanwhile, the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits - the mainland organization which deals directly with Taiwan on technical and business issues - also says it will need to hear an adherence to the "one China" principle to continue meeting with its counterparts on the island.

Ni Yongjie, deputy head of the Taiwan Research Institute in Shanghai, says without the Consensus, cross-Straits ties are likely to suffer a major impact.

"Without supporting the Consensus, political trust, which is the most important aspect of cross-Straits relations, will be affected³, and even stuck in stagnation⁴. This could lead to a series of things happening. The negotiation⁵ mechanism⁶ between the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits and its Taiwan counterpart could be broken. The deals already reached between the two sides could be affected, as could further cross-straits economic cooperation. Then there's the communication mechanism between the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office and its Taiwan counterpart... It could run into trouble. The newly-established hot line between the two offices might be cut off. And of course, in terms of another meeting between the top leaders of both sides... well... don't even think about it!"

The mainland's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits and its Taiwan counterpart, the Straits Exchange Foundation, were established as non-governmental organizations after 1992 to deal with cross-Straits issues.

However, following the election of former pro-Taiwan independence leader Chen Shui-bian in late 1999, contact between the groups was cut off.

Chen headed the Democratic Progressive Party, the same political party of new Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen.

Only after Chen was ousted⁷ from office in 2008 did the two sides start talking again.

Since then, more than 20 different cross-Straits agreements have been signed, opening up numerous business and travel opportunities for people on both sides.

Cao Xiaoheng, director of the Taiwan Economic Research Institute at Nankai University, says for those opportunities to continue, the DPP will have to mirror the political stance the previous ruling party, the Kuomintang, took.

"Currently there is no foundation for dialogue between the ruling parties of the two sides. This will require the Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, to lay such a foundation by adhering to the 1992.Consensus. The positive cross-straits dialogue and communication since 2008 is something most people from the two sides would like to see. However, the new administration in Taiwan will hold all the responsibility if all these positive developments over the past 8 years are lost as a result of the DPP's refusal to adhere to the 1992 Consensus."

At a government-to-government level, there has been movement.

A mechanism for regular communication was established 2 years ago between the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office and its governmental counterpart in Taiwan.

Heads of the two offices have met with each other 5 times since then.

A hot line between the two governments was officially launched in December last year following the historic meeting between Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-Jeou.

For CRI, this is Ding Heng.

1 adherence   

n.信奉，依附，坚持，固着

参考例句：

• He was well known for his adherence to the rules.他因遵循这些规定而出名。
• The teacher demanded adherence to the rules.老师要求学生们遵守纪律。

2 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 stagnation   

n. 停滞

参考例句：

• Poor economic policies led to a long period of stagnation and decline. 糟糕的经济政策道致了长时间的经济萧条和下滑。
• Motion is absolute while stagnation is relative. 运动是绝对的，而静止是相对的。

5 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

6 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

7 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。