Ma cites ‘five noes’ as definition of status quo

Ma made the remarks Friday while delivering a speech titled, “Taiwan: Advancing Peace and Prosperity,” at the University of California, Berkeley.

When taking questions from the floor, Ma was challenged by T.J. Pempel, dean of the university’s East Asian Studies Graduate Institute, to define the cross-strait status quo, according to the United Evening News.

Pempel pointed out that cross-strait situations have been ever changing, with China increasing its military threat against Taiwan.

He asked how Ma could be sure China would accept his definition of cross-strait “status quo.”

In response, Ma admitted that in the three-sided game between Taiwan, China and the United States, each side has its own interpretation of the “status quo.”

But he said the status quo could be summarized in the “five noes” that President Chen spelt out in his inauguration speeches in 2000 and 2004.

The “five noes” are Chen’s promises not to seek Taiwan’s independence, change the nation’s title, or abolish the National Unification Council during his presidential stint.

Ma added that the ROC Constitution is the basis for the status quo.

By adhering to the Constitution and keeping it as it is, and by not declaring Taiwan’s independence or seeking immediate unification with China, it would be a status quo in the best interests of all three sides involved, the KMT chief said.

Back in Taiwan, KMT officials and their allies in the People First Party voiced support for Ma’s idea of the “five noes” being the status quo.

Tseng Yung-chuan, head of the KMT’s Central Policy Committee, said the ruling Democratic Progressive Party should stick to the “five noes” and stop finding excuses to undermine the status quo.

He was referring to President Chen’s recent declaration that the National Unification Council “ceased to function.”

Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang, whip of the PFP caucus, said Ma’s idea is exactly what the PFP has been advocating.

Lu said Ma was urging President Chen to stick to the “five noes.”

But Legislator Huang Shih-cho, whip of the pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union, claimed Ma’s “five noes” were different from the president’s.

He pointed out that Chen’s “five noes” are based on the precondition that China should put an end to its military threats against Taiwan, while Ma ignores the precondition.

Huang said Ma did not was really mean what he said, because the KMT chief supports “eventual unification” with China. In Washington, a U.S.-based pro-Taiwan independence group Friday criticized remarks Ma made on cross-strait issues during his visit to Washington D.C. earlier last week, according to the Central News Agency.

The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) said in a statement that the March 22-23 visit by Ma “raised more questions than it brought answers,” as his remarks were “unreal, unclear and unacceptable.”

The FAPA pointed out that Ma has proposed forging a peace accord between Taiwan and China based on the so-called “1992 consensus.”

The consensus, according to the KMT, refers to an understanding reached between Taipei and Beijing in 1992 talks held in Hong Kong that each side maintained its own interpretation of the meaning of “one China.”

“The key problem with this rosy scenario is that China never accepted the KMT’s version of ‘each side its own interpretation,’” the FAPA statement said.

“In fact, it recently became clear that the ‘1992 consensus’ never existed: KMT Legislator Su Chi (former chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council) admitted it was a fabrication,” the FAPA noted.

While Ma’s proposal presupposes the People’s Republic of China will accept the Republic of China as a sovereign entity, Beijing has consistently rejected the existence of the ROC as a political entity, it said.

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