離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 President pledges cross-strait stability
President Tsai Ing-wen yesterday in Taichung makes a speech to Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China. Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
IT TAKES TWO: While Taipei is aiming for positive interactions, the ‘development of cross-strait relations is the shared responsibility of both sides,’ the president said
By Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） yesterday reiterated her government’s “unwavering determination” to maintain stable and peaceful cross-strait development, vowing to do her utmost to increase amicable interactions across the Taiwan Strait.
Tsai made the remarks during a lunch with China-based Taiwanese businesspeople at the Lin Hotel in Taichung, which was also attended by Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katharine Chang （張小月）, newly appointed Straits Exchange Foundation （SEF） Chairman Tien Hung-mao （田弘茂）, Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Jason Liu （劉建忻） and Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin （沈榮津）.
“Many of the Taiwanese businesspeople present today have commuted back and forth across the Taiwan Strait for their businesses and have made significant contributions to boosting Taiwan’s economic development and global competitiveness,” Tsai said in a speech.
Tsai said she is aware of the public’s “deep concerns” about recent changes in the cross-strait relationship, adding that her administration remains unfaltering in its determination to maintain stable and peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait.
Guided by the goal of safeguarding overall national interests and the welfare of the public, the government plans to focus fully on increasing positive cross-strait interactions and building a pragmatic, stable and sustainable cross-strait relationship, Tsai said.
“However, I must emphasize that development of cross-strait relations is the shared responsibility of both sides,” Tsai said, expressing the hope that Tien’s assumption of office as SEF chairman could help promote the growth of new opportunities in the relationship.
The president has been facing mounting pressure from China, and from Taiwanese businesspeople with close ties to Beijing to acknowledge the so-called “1992 consensus.”
Nearly 10,000 people from the tourism industry protested in Taipei on Monday to urge the government to prop up the sector amid a perceived politically motivated decline in the number of Chinese tour groups.
Beijing has suspended cross-strait communication mechanisms between the Mainland Affairs Council and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, as well as the semi-official SEF and its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits （ARATS）, as a punitive measure against Tsai over her refusal to accept the “1992 consensus.”
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 Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the lunch, Tien told reporters that there is still a possibility that the SEF and the ARATS could resume normal interactions, and that the foundation is exploring all possible measures to establish communications with Beijing.
“It is expected that the ‘1992 consensus’ will be brought up by some Taiwanese businesspeople. We respect their opinions, but there are other channels for the government to address the current cross-strait impasse,” Tien said.
Tien said the foundation welcomed any efforts by Taiwanese businesspeople to express their opinions to China’s decisionmakers via personal connections or by communicating directly with Chinese government officials.
Additional reporting by Lin Liang-sheng
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
