Tsai could drag cross-Straits ties back to confrontation: experts
A Chinese mainland spokesperson for cross-Straits affairs slammed Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen's Monday speech, saying it is a dead-end to deny the 1992 Consensus, incite confrontation and cut economic and cultural ties across the Straits.
"The two sides across the Straits can only negotiate and interact if Taiwan recognizes the 1992 Consensus and adheres to its core meaning," An Fengshan, spokesman of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a statement published on the official website on Monday.
The 1992 Consensus and the one-China principle it embodies are in accordance with the juridical logic and reality of the cross-Straits relations as well as the cornerstone that ensures the peaceful development of the relations, An said, adding that the "goodwill" of the island's leadership lies in whether it accepts the 1992 Consensus.
An reiterated the mainland's sincerity and goodwill in improving cross-Straits ties based on the 1992 Consensus remain unchanged, and will resolutely oppose acts to create "Taiwan independence."
Tsai said in the speech that "our pledges will not change, and our goodwill will not change. But we will not bow to pressure, and we will, of course, not revert to the old path of confrontation. This is our fundamental attitude toward maintaining the status quo, and it is based on the collective hope for peace across the Taiwan Straits."
She called upon the Chinese mainland authorities to "face up to the reality that the Republic of China exists."
Zhang Wensheng, a research fellow at Xiamen University, told the Global Times that the mainland could not feel any "goodwill" without the recognition of the one-China principle.
"Tsai's speech has nothing new and she was actually using the idea of 'two countries' to confront the principle," Zhang said.
"It is a good time for Tsai to improve cross-Straits ties. However, she missed the chance and will possibly drag the relationship back to confrontation," said Zhang Hua, an assistant research fellow at the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Tsai's speech to promote the cross-Straits relationship is only another disguise for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to promote "Taiwan independence," said Chang Ya-chung, a political professor at Taiwan University.
"Tsai wants to seek a balance between pro-independence groups within the DPP and the Chinese mainland, but she failed and hurt the cross-Straits relations as well as the interests of Taiwan," Zhang Hua said, referring to a sharp decline in the number of tourists from the mainland to Taiwan since Tsai took office and Taiwan's absence at an assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization held in Montreal, Canada on September 27.
Zhang noted that it is impossible for Taiwan to seek support from the U.S. and Japan on the Taiwan question because the two countries would prioritize their cooperation with the mainland on economic and global affairs over Taiwan.
