離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Taipei working on a ‘consensus’ countermeasure
People First Party （PFP） Chairman James Soong, left, and Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je yesterday hold mock cellphone screens at the launch of a PFP youth camp in Taipei. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
‘PATHOGENS’: The city government said it would have a response ready if the so-called ‘1992 consensus’ is touted by the Chinese at a forum later this month
By Sean Lin / Staff reporter
The Taipei City Government will have a countermeasure in place if Chinese Communist Party （CCP） Shanghai Municipal Committee United Front Work Department Director Sha Hailin （沙海林） touts the so-called “1992 consensus” at the Taipei-Shanghai Forum later this month, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je （柯文哲） said yesterday.
Ko made the comment in response to reporters’ questions on whether he had asked Sha to refrain from mentioning the “consensus” at the forum.
Ko said that he did not want to impose such a framework on the Chinese delegation.
“The host should cater to the guest, but then again, we should have countermeasures in place,” he said on the sidelines of a Ketagalan Institute summer camp that he was attending in Taipei.
“As a physician, I think that if we have a strong ‘immune system,’ we need not be worried about any ‘pathogens,’” he said.
Before attending the forum in Shanghai last year, Ko said that “the guest should accept the hosts’ arrangements.”
Asked about his change of rhetoric, and if he was concerned about being criticized by the pan-green camp for being too “soft” on China, he said that “soft power” is crucial to international exchanges.
“The outcome is what matters most; the process, not so much,” he said, adding that the main purpose of the forum is to give people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait a chance to outline their needs and explore possibilities for collaboration, so that the governments can respond to their needs.
He said that he would “take a deep breath and relax” if Sha brought up the “1992 consensus,” because by then the city government would have figured out how to respond.
Commenting on some Taipei city councilors’ remarks that China is trying to “subjugate” Taiwan by sending Sha and that the forum should be called off, Ko said it is to be expected that China would attempt to “play some wild cards,” but that this challenge can be met by being prepared.
He said he had suggested that the Shanghai Municipal Government send a deputy mayor instead of Sha, but that due to the way Chinese politics works, it was not Shanghai’s decision to make.
He brushed aside questions about whether he had asserted his “one family across the Taiwan Strait” stance to China to get it to agree to send a delegation to the forum.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi （蘇起） admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Separately yesterday, People First Party （PFP） Chairman James Soong （宋楚瑜）, who met with Ko at a luncheon following an event marking the launch of a PFP youth camp, praised Sha as a “remarkable person.”
Citing his past interactions with Sha, Soong said Sha is open to different views from those held by the CCP, including different interpretations of the “1992 consensus.”
“Should we turn away upon hearing the name CCP? Frankly, the times have changed, and the CCP has changed,” he said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
