Consultation between the Chinese mainland’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) could resume if Taiwan authorities acknowledge the 1992 Consensus, which upholds the one-China principle, a mainland spokesperson said Wednesday.
Addressing a regular press conference, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, attributed the ongoing political stalemate across the Taiwan Straits to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities’ stubborn adherence to the separatist position of “Taiwan independence” since 2016.
She accused the DPP authorities of distorting–and even rejecting–the 1992 Consensus, thereby, undermining the foundation for the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and for consultation and exchanges between ARATS and SEF.
Zhu made the statement in response to recent remarks regarding cross-Straits ties from Frank Wu, the new SEF chairman.
In 1945, the Chinese people won the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and as a result, Taiwan was freed from Japanese colonial rule and returned to the motherland.
After 1949, due to the continuation of China’s civil war and interference from external forces, the two sides of the Taiwan Straits entered a prolonged state of political confrontation.
However, Zhu said, Taiwan remains an inalienable part of China’s territory — a fact that has never changed and cannot be changed. “This is not only a historical fact and legal basis, but also the status quo,” she said.