President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the people of Taiwan for supporting her rejection of China’s “one country, two systems” formula. Tsai was speaking on Wednesday during her New Year’s address. The “one country, two systems” model is a governing principle proposed by China to unify Taiwan with the mainland.
Tsai said, for the past six months, the world has witnessed the failure of the “one country two systems” model in Hong Kong. She said the people of Hong Kong have proven that democracy and authoritarianism cannot coexist.
Tsai said she put forth “four musts” in her New Year’s speech last year, which China needs to accept if both sides are to foster positive cross-strait relations. Tsai said China must recognize the existence of the Republic of China, which is Taiwan’s official name. She also called for China to respect the commitment of Taiwan’s 23 million people to freedom and democracy. Tsai said China must also handle cross-strait differences peacefully, and engage in negotiations with Taiwan via government or government-authorized agencies.
During her address on Wednesday, Tsai proposed “four understandings” for the New Year in hopes that Taiwanese people can unite and face external threats together. The first is to understand that China is the one undermining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and not Taiwan. Second, that China is using the 1992 Consensus to undermine the Republic of China. The consensus refers to a tacit agreement between Taiwan and China where both sides agreed that there is “one China,” with each side entitled to their own interpretation of what “one China” means. Third, Taiwan’s sovereignty cannot be exchanged for short-term economic benefits from China. And fourth, that Taiwan must be aware that China is infiltrating Taiwan’s society to sow division. Tsai said Taiwan will become an immense force in the international community if its people can unite together on the “four understandings.”
Tsai also said that she is willing to carry out meaningful exchanges with China, but only without political premises.
News Source：RTI
Editor：Shirley Lin
