Taiwan's new leader 'must clarify stance'

Question regarding 1992 Consensus cannot be evaded by Tsai, mainland spokesman says

The Chinese mainland's Taiwan affairs spokesman, Ma Xiaoguang, said on Wednesday that the island's new leader must, without any equivocation, clarify her stance on cross-Straits relations.

Ma, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at a regular news conference that Taiwan must clarify the issue.

In a speech after taking office on Friday, new leader Tsai Ing-wen was ambiguous, despite cross-Straits relations being of the utmost concern to people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, Ma said.

Tsai did not explicitly recognize the 1992 Consensus, which says that both the mainland and Taiwan are parts of one China, and she offered no concrete proposal to ensure the peaceful and stable growth of cross-Straits relations, he said.

"The issue is a question that must be answered - it cannot be evaded," said Ma.

The cross-Straits cooperation process will only continue when the island's new leader fully endorses the one China principle, Ma said.

The mainland opposes all separatist activities advocating "Taiwan independence" in the name of "law amendments", he added.

"No one shall test our resolution and capability to safeguard our national sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.

Meanwhile, the island's "economics minister", Lee Chih-kung, said on Wednesday that Taiwan's new government has no schedule for restarting trade talks with the mainland. He added that the pro-independence ruling party first wanted to pass a law governing oversight of negotiations with Beijing.

Beijing has already condemned the Democratic Progressive Party's proposed "supervisory law", and critics in Taiwan said it could paralyze relations with the mainland.

The bill requires government officials to get legislative consent before, during and after any talks with Beijing. They cannot sign any agreements with the mainland before all three stages of legislative approval are completed.

"The cross-Straits supervisory bill is still in parliament," Lee said. "Trade talks need the oversight, so to hold trade talks would be of no use."

Ma said directors of the departments of cross-Straits affairs on both sides have had five meetings since 2014, and interactions have included establishing a hotline.

"The intensive communication between the two sides has handled many sensitive problems and avoided misunderstandings," said Ma. "The exchanges have built mutual trust and made the impossible possible."

"All accomplishments in the past few years are based on the 1992 Consensus," he added.

The mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits issued a statement after the new leader took office, saying that the association's determination to improve cross-Straits relations wouldn't change.

Xinhua and Reuters contributed to this story.

pengyining@chinadaily.com.cn