The "Consensus of 1992" (Chinese:九二共識; literally, "92 Consensus") describes an alleged agreement that both Mainland China and Taiwan belong to one China with both sides having different interpretations over the meaning of that term. In 2006, former Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) official Su Chi admitted that he created this term in 2000 to replace the term "one china with different interpretation".^[1] ... The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) (海峽交流基金會) is a semi-official organization set up by the Republic of China government to handle technical or business matters with the Peoples Republic of China. ...

The People's Republic of China has stated that any group in Taiwan that it has formal talks with must support the 1992 Consensus. In Taiwan, the 1992 Consensus is supported by the parties that make up the pan-Blue coalition (the Kuomintang and People's First Party), and it was the basis by which the leaders of those parties travelled to mainland China in 2005 for discussions with the Communist Party of China. The pan-Green coalition and the ROC government officials reject the very existence of 1992 Consensus and argue that the name is misleading because no consensus was reached over the issue of one China in meetings between PRC and ROC representatives in 1992. Further, President Chen ordered a search of all government records for evidence supporting the alleged consensus and having not found any^{[citation needed]}, he concluded that there never was such a consensus. The Pan-Blue Coalition (Traditional Chinese: 泛藍聯盟; Simplified Chinese: 泛蓝联盟; Hanyu Pinyin: ), or Pan-Blue Force (Traditional Chinese: 泛藍軍; Simplified Chinese: 泛蓝军; Hanyu Pinyin: ), is a political coalition in Taiwan, consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), the People First Party (PFP), and the smaller New Party (CNP). ... The Kuomintang of China (abbreviation KMT) (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Tongyong Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung1-kuo2 Kuo2-min2-tang3) [1], also often translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party in the Republic of China, now on Taiwan, and is currently the largest political party in... The People First Party (親民黨, pinyin: Qīnmíndǎng) is a conservative political party in the Republic of China on Taiwan. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ... The Pan-Green Coalition (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) or Pan-Green Force (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is currently an informal political alliance in the Republic of China (Taiwan), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), and the minor Taiwan Independence Party (TAIP). ...

Usage surrounding the Wang-Koo talks

The "1992 Consensus" resulted from a November 1992 meeting in Hong Kong between the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). These semi-official bodies were authorized by their respective governments to negotiate solutions to practical problems that had arisen from growing cross-strait commerce. The conclusion they reached was intended as a means of side-stepping the conflict over the political status of Taiwan. At the time of the meeting, Hong Kong was under British rule and therefore considered neutral territory by both sides. The Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) (海峽兩岸關係協會) is an organization set up by the Peoples Republic of China for handling technical or business matters with the Republic of China. ... The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) (海峽交流基金會) is a semi-official organization set up by the Republic of China government to handle technical or business matters with the Peoples Republic of China. ... Taiwan Strait Area The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait is a 180km-wide Strait between mainland China and the island of Taiwan. ... Taiwan Strait area The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan hinges on whether Taiwan, including the Pescadores (Penghu), should remain the effective territory of the Republic of China (ROC), become unified with the territories now governed by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), or become the Republic of...

As a result of the 1992 meeting, ARATS Chairman Wang Daohan and SEF Chairman Koo Chen-fu met in Singapore on April 27, 1993 in what became known as the "Wang-Koo talks." They concluded agreements on document authentication, postal transfers, and a schedule for future ARATS-SEF meetings. Wang Daohan (汪道涵), (March 1915 – December 24, 2005) was the former president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS). ... Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫; pinyin: Gū Zhènfǔ, 6 January 1917 - 3 January 2005), the late chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), was considered both a tycoon and a statesman. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ...

Talks were delayed as tensions rose in the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, but in October 1998 a second round of "Wang-Koo talks" were held in Shanghai. Wang and Koo agreed to meet again in Taiwan in the autumn of 1999, but the meeting was called off by the mainland side when President Lee Teng-hui proposed his "two-states theory" whereby each side would treat the other as separate state. PRC officials have indicated that this position is unacceptable. Taiwan Strait The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1995-1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis or the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was the effect of a series of missile tests conducted by the Peoples Republic of China in the waters surrounding Taiwan including the Taiwan Strait from July 21... Shanghai (Chinese: ; pinyin:  ; Wu (Long-short): ZÃ¥nhae; Shanghainese (IPA): ), situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta in East China, is the largest city of the Peoples Republic of China and the seventh largest in the world. ... The President of the Republic of China (中華民國總統) is the head of state of the Republic of China, the government which administered part or all of Mainland China from 1917 to 1949 and has administered Taiwan and several outlying islands from 1945 until the present. ... Lee Teng-hui (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) born January 15, 1923) is a politician of Taiwan. ... In an interview with the German press Deutsche Welle in 1996, Lee Teng-hui, the President of the Republic of China on Taiwan, stated that “Since the introduction of its constitutional reforms in 1991, Taiwan has redefined its relationship with mainland China as being state to state relations or at...

In a speech on October 10, 2004^[2], President Chen Shui-bian expressed his willingness in initiate dialogue with PRC leaders on "the basis of the 1992 meeting in Hong Kong". This formulation however presumes that no agreement on one China was made in the 1992 meeting, and Chen's speech was widely seen as an effort to establish a basis for negotiations with the PRC without accepting the one China principle. Chen Shui-bian, President of the Republic of China Chen Shui-bian (ch. ...

The 1992 Consensus was invoked again the following year, when Lien Chan and Song Chu-Yu made separate trips to Mainland China to begin party-to-party dialogue between the CCP and KMT and between the CCP and PFP. Both leaders explicitly endorsed the 1992 Consensus as defined by the CCP. Dr. Lien Chan Lien Chan (連戰, in pinyin: Lián Zhàn) (born August 27, 1936, in Xian) is a Taiwanese politician. ... Soong Chu-yu James Chu-yu Soong (宋楚瑜 Wade-Giles: Sung Chu-yü; pinyin: Sòng Chǔyú; born March 16, 1942) is a politician in the Republic of China on Taiwan. ...

Dispute over the "1992 Consensus"

Supporters of the pan-Green coalition have argued that the meetings in 1992 did not come to any agreement over the one China principle. In support of this view, they point out that both Hsu Huei-yu and Koo Chen-fu, who participated in the 1992 meeting as SEF delegates, have publicly affirmed that the meeting did not result in any consensus on the "one China" issue. Instead, they claim, both sides agreed to proceed with future meetings on the basis of equality and mutual respect. Koo stated in his biography that, "Both sides across the strait have different interpretations of the 1992 Hong Kong meeting. Rather than using 'consensus,' the term of art should be 'understanding' or 'accord' to better reflect the fact, thus avoiding untruthful application." The Pan-Green Coalition (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) or Pan-Green Force (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is currently an informal political alliance in the Republic of China (Taiwan), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), and the minor Taiwan Independence Party (TAIP). ... Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫; pinyin: Gū Zhènfǔ, 6 January 1917 - 3 January 2005), the late chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), was considered both a tycoon and a statesman. ...

The Chief of the ROC Mainland Affairs Council also indicated that no consensus was reached as a result of the 1992 meeting and that the term "Consensus of 1992" was only introduced by the mass media in 1995. Some Taiwan independence supporters, such as former President Lee Teng-hui, point to a lack of documentation to argue that the consensus never existed.^[3] However, it is also the case that as of 1992, the government of the ROC still formally adhered to a "one China" position, one which it only moved away from in the late-1990's. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC; Chinese: 大陸委員會; pinyin: Dàlù Wěiyuánhuì) is a cabinet-level administrative agency under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China. ... Taiwan independence (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: , Pe̍h-oē-jī: Tâi-oân To̍k-li̍p ūn-tōng; abbreviated to 台獨, Táidú, Tâi-to̍k) is a political movement whose goal is primarily to create an independent and sovereign Republic of Taiwan out of the...

According to Raymond Burghardt, the chair of the American Institute in Taiwan, the US's de facto embassy in Taiwan: The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) serves as the de facto embassy of the United States in Taiwan. ...

"[There was] some language [in the faxes] that overlapped and some language that differed." Then Taiwan and China agreed to conduct dialogue based on their statements written in those faxes. "That's what happened. Nothing more or nothing less," Burghardt said, adding that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) called this the "1992 consensus," which was to some extent "confusing and misleading. To me, I'm not sure why you could call that a consensus."^[4]

Burghardt is thought to be the only US official to have expressed a position on the existence of the so-called 1992 consensus.

In a televised debate between Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian and KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou on April 2006, Ma urged Chen to accept the 1992 Consensus as the basis to beginning peace talks. Chen criticized Ma as being delusional, stating that the Chinese position has always been that the One China defines as Taiwan being part of the PRC regime in Beijing. Chen added that Ma should ask honorary chairman Lien Chan in his visit to the mainland to inquire Chinese president Hu Jintao about Ma's view on the 1992 Consensus. The KMT refused Chen's request, citing that a pro-independent advocate does not deserve his message to be transmitted through the pro-unification channels.

References

The Taipei Times is one of the three English-language newspapers in Taiwan, the other two being the Taiwan News and the China Post. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 159th day of the year (160th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Taipei Times is one of the three English-language newspapers in Taiwan, the other two being the Taiwan News and the China Post. ...

External links

• Su, Chi: "I created the 1992 Consesus" (Chinese)
• People's Daily Backgrounder
• No 1992 consensus, MAC chief says
• Lu: Taiwan can't accept `one China'
• Lee denies existence of '1992 consensus'
• "SEF urges resumption of cross-strait talks"
• Debate over 1992 'one China' consensus rages on
• Chen's 10/10/04 speech