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Chen urged not to distort "1992 Consensus"
2004-11-15 00:00
 

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- An official with mainland China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) clarified the country's stance on the "1992 Consensus" Sunday in response t o Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's appeal to restart cross-Strait talks based on the Consensus.

"If Chen disregards or distorts the historical facts on the Consensus, refusing to accept 'one-China' principle and is bent on 'Taiwan independence,' he only proves his insincerity about restarting talks across the Strait and will runs counter to the expectation of the international community," the official said.

The official explained that the "1992 Consensus" refers to a meeting held between the ARATS and the Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF) of Taiwan held in Hong Kong in late Oct. 1992.

The precondition of the Consensus, the official noted, is that "both sides of the Strait adhere to the 'one-China' principle," which is also one of the key issues discussed during the meeting.

"If Chen would clearly acknowledge the precondition as well as the facts, while discarding his 'one country on each side' principle and 'Taiwan Independence' position, ARATS and SEF could resume talks," the official said.

The official offered an explanation of the events leading up to the 1992 Consensus. As exchanges in trade, economy and other fields across the Taiwan Strait had increased since late 1987, Taiwan authorities adjusted its policy of "no contact, no concession and no negotiation" and set up the SEF to contact and negotiate with the Chinese mainland over problems as they occurred, he said. In order to promote exchanges across the Strait, the Chinese mainland agreed to hold negotiations by establishing ARATS in December 1991.

At the start of negotiations, he recalled, ARATS maintained that it was essential to persevere in the "one-China" policy in negotiations and agreements, despite great political differences of the two sides then.

On August 1, 1992, Taiwan's "national reunification committee" reached a conclusion about the connotation of the "one-China" policy, stating that though there are different understandings of the principle, both sides across the Strait should agree with "one-China," he said.

This concession by Taiwan paved the way for the agreements achieved by the "1992 Consensus."

A Summary of the Wang-Koo (Wang Daohan and Koo Chen-fu, the leader of SEF by then) Talks published by the SEF in August 1993 stated that the consensus reached by ARATS and SEF were quite clear: both sides had worked hard to seek common points while reserving differences in elaborating the political content of "one-China." Enditem

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