Taiwanese President Rattles China with Speech

President Tsai Ing-wen angers Taiwanese and Chinese

At the commemoration of Taiwan National Day on October 10, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen delivered a speech in which she expressed her desire to maintain good cross-strait relations, while refusing to accept the “One China” policy. By arguing for maintaining the status quo with China, she angered both China and the Taiwan populace. President Tsai’s National Day speech comes months after China suspended all official avenues of communication between the governments in June.

This policy responded directly to President Tsai’s May inauguration speech, in which she made no reference to the 1992 Consensus but instead used the phrase “historical fact” to describe the 1992 meeting. The 1992 Consensus refers to a statement drafted by the mainland-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) from Taiwan and China in which both parties acknowledged the existence of only “one China.” The Democratic People’s Party (DPP) of Taiwan, on the other hand, does not recognize the existence of “one China” but rather recognizes People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) as two distinct sovereign nations.

At the National Day speech, President Tsai said, “I call upon the authorities of mainland China to face up to the reality that the Republic of China exists, and that the people of Taiwan have an unshakable faith in the democratic system.” By pointing out that ROC exists, Tsai challenged KMT’s accusation that she refuses to acknowledge the 1992 Consensus at all. However, President Tsai also promised to adhere to the ROC Constitution, rather than the PRC Constitution, in cross-strait relations.

The National Day speech polarized the populace. According to The China Post, both Taiwan independence supporters and China sympathizers staged rallies during the speech. The pro-independence activists waved flags reading, “Taiwan Independence,” and “one Taiwan, one China,” demanding a referendum to decide whether Taiwan would declare independence. Lin Fei-Fan, one of the leaders of the 2014 Sunflower Movement, told The Caravel, “Some people criticize her [for] being too conservative in changing the unbalanced cross-strait relations… Tsai, in many ways, hasn’t caught up with the transition and [the] opportunity to break away from China.”

The pro-unification camp occupied the other side of the rally, demanding President Tsai halt any activities aimed at severing ties with mainland China. They shouted, “Return to the Republic of China Constitution” and that “the ‘one China Constitution’ saves Taiwan.” The KMT Chairwoman, Hung Hsiu-chu, expressed skepticism towardsPresident Tsai’s good will in cross-strait relations: “Reform without good faith will bring nothing but endless inter- communal animosity,” Hung told Focus Taiwan.

China responded to the National Day speech with regret. According to The China Post article, Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office remarked that President Tsai “den[ied] the 1992 Consensus, inciting cross-strait confrontation and cutting the economic, social and cultural ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait was a dead-end, evil path.” China has also adopted a policy of preferential treatment to regions dominated by the mainland-friendly KMT party. China promised increased tourism and stronger agricultural ties with these regions.

With China’s adamant position against dialogue until the Tsai government acknowledges the 1992 Consensus, and the DPP showing no signs of acknowledging it, any friendly conversation between the two governments appears unlikely in the near future. With a divided Taiwanese populace, the future of cross-strait relations appears as fragile as it is unpredictable.