Ma reaffirms Taiwan policy on cross-strait relations

TAIPEI – Taiwan’s President, Ma Ying-jeou, has said his Government will continue promoting cross-strait relations under the principle of no unification, no independence and no use of force. “This approach is imperative in building a framework for the sustainable and peaceful development of ties between Taiwan and mainland China going forward,” Ma said.

“We remain rock solid on this stance under the ROC Constitution and in line with the 1992 consensus.”
Ma made the remarks while receiving a group of Asia-based correspondents from European and US media outlets at the Presidential Office. Ma said cross-strait relations are proceeding in the interests of both sides, and the current tempo of exchanges meets the expectations of the majority of people in Taiwan.
“Tremendous progress has been made in the past six years, but there is still room for further improvement,” Ma said. “It is important to promote cross-strait ties in an orderly manner so that the development will not be sidetracked.”
As a vibrant democracy, Taiwan is evidence that this political system can be successfully implemented in ethnic Chinese communities around the world, the president said, adding that this is one of the important reasons why the country matters.
Consequently, the people of Taiwan are paying great attention to the universal suffrage movement in Hong Kong, Ma said. “This is not because we are concerned the same situation will happen in Taiwan. It is because Taiwan is totally different from Hong Kong.”
Instead, the people want to know whether Beijing will honour its promise to Hong Kong, he said. “The one country, two systems formula practiced in the (HK) special administrative region is not acceptable to Taiwan.”
Continuing to promote cross-strait exchanges, especially among the younger generations, is of great importance, Ma said. “We believe that when mainland China moves toward democracy and allows more freedom to its people, the psychological gap between the two sides will be greatly shortened.” www.taiwantoday.tw (ATI).