Beijing slams Taiwan’s DPP over cross-strait ‘chaos’, warns of rising risk of war if 1992 consensus not heeded
Beijing has slammed “pro-independence forces” in Taiwan for sowing chaos in the Asia-Pacific region, while once again warning of the rising risk of war if the island’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party continues to challenge its sovereignty.
“Taiwan separatists are incompatible with peace in the Taiwan Strait and a source of chaos affecting the stability of the Asia-Pacific region,” Chen Binhua, a spokesman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, which oversees cross-strait ties, said on Wednesday.
“To bring cross-strait relations back to the right track of peaceful development, and ensure the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, it is necessary to return to the 1992 consensus that embodies the one-China principle,” he said, referring to an agreement Beijing sees as the basis of cross-strait ties.
However, the 1992 consensus – an unofficial agreement that there is only one China but the two sides may disagree about what that means – was reached when Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang, was in power.
President Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning DPP has refused to accept it since coming to power in 2016.
Taiwan votes on January 13 to elect a successor to Tsai, and DPP candidate William Lai Ching-te remains the front runner, according to the latest polls. Beijing describes Lai, who has promised to retain Tsai’s policies, is a separatist.
Taiwan “has always been the most important and sensitive issue in China-US relations”, Chen said, noting that Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden had reaffirmed their stance on the self-ruled island during their meeting earlier this month.
Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the possibility of using force for reunification. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise the island as independent, but are opposed to a change in the status quo by force.
Chen also reiterated Beijing’s “strong opposition” to US arms sales to Taiwan and urged Washington to adhere to the one-China principle, “fulfilling its solemn political commitment not to support Taiwan independence through concrete actions, instead of saying one thing and doing another”.
Lai’s vice-presidential running mate Hsiao Bi-khim has said “war is not an option”, according to media reports.
“We have reiterated our position that we remain open to dialogue, that we are also committed to the status quo,” Hsiao said last week.
In response, Chen said it was important to uphold the 1992 consensus. This was “the common political foundation for cross-strait dialogue and negotiations” and upholding it would ensure that “there are no obstacles for any political party or group in Taiwan to engage with us”, he said.
Taiwan poll: DPP senses win with Lai-Hsiao ticket but Beijing might see ‘war’
Taiwan poll: DPP senses win with Lai-Hsiao ticket but Beijing might see ‘war’
“If they refuse to acknowledge the 1992 consensus and stubbornly adhere to a Taiwan independence stance, even as they talk about cross-strait communication … and peace, it is nothing more than an attempt to conceal the harmful nature of Taiwan independence [activists] and deceive voters.”
Chen also described measures such tripling compulsory military service for Taiwanese from 2024 as evidence of the DPP’s “collusion with external forces for … seeking independence through force”.
From January, when the island votes in a new president and legislature, Taiwanese men aged 18 and above will be required to serve in the military for one year instead of four months.
Chen said moves such as these would “only intensify tensions in the Taiwan Strait, seriously harm the safety and well-being of the Taiwanese people, and sacrifice the education and future of Taiwanese students”.
