《TAIPEI TIMES》 Taiwan rebuts China on National Day

SOVEREIGN NATION: The Chinese premier’s remarks about the CCP’s resolve to achieve unification sought to undermine the legitimacy of Taiwan, the MAC said

By Chung Lia-hua and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, staff writer

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Taiwan will never accept Beijing’s attempts to undermine its sovereignty, the Mainland Affairs Council （MAC） said yesterday, after the Chinese Communist Party （CCP） at its National Day celebrations in Beijing vowed to achieve unification with Taiwan.

The CCP’s statement was not conducive to peaceful cross-strait relations, the council said.

The event, hosted by the Chinese State Council, featured Chinese President Xi Jinping （習近平）, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang （李克強）, the other five CCP Politburo Standing Committee members and Vice President Wang Qishan （王岐山）, as well as 500 guests from China and abroad.

Taiwanese based in China also attended the ceremony, Xinhua news agency said.

Li greeted “people of all ethnicities” in China, and extended “warmest regards” to “compatriots of Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and overseas.”

With regard to cross-strait relations, Li said it is imperative to implement the general strategies of the CPP to resolve the “Taiwan issue.”

China seeks to maintain and uphold the “one China” principle and the “1992 consensus” to oppose the “secession” of Taiwan, which is promoted from within Taiwan and by foreign entities seeking to meddle with China’s domestic affairs, Li said.

The council said the statement was an attempt to undermine the legitimacy and sovereignty of Taiwan.

“We will never accept such ideas,” it said.

The government is assessing whether Taiwanese attended the event, and urges Taiwanese not to become mouthpieces of the CCP and undermine Taiwan’s national interests, the council said.

Neither side of the Taiwan Strait “belongs” to the other, it said.

The council called on the CCP to respect the choices made by Taiwanese, saying that the international community strongly opposes Beijing’s attempts to disturb peace and the “status quo” across the Strait.

China’s National Day marks the anniversary of the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949, before the then-Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） government retreated to Taiwan.

China Central Television （CCTV） wished its followers on Sina Weibo a happy National Day, posting a picture with an “I Love You, China” slogan.

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The picture was quickly shared by the official social media accounts of China-friendly Taiwanese celebrities, including Ouyang Nana （歐陽娜娜）, Rainie Yang （楊丞琳）, Lin Chi-ling （林志玲）, Jiro Wang （汪東城） and Janine Chang （張鈞甯）, who added the phrase: “Best wishes for our fatherland, may it prosper and be strong.”

Lin’s post came after she in August was criticized by Chinese social media users after she did not repost a picture with the slogan “There is only one China” that was originally posted on the CCTV Web site in response to a Taiwan visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The so-called “1992 consensus” — a term that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi （蘇起） in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES