[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 18497-18498]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   SUMMARY OF PRESIDENT MA YING-JEOU REMARKS IN MEETING WITH CHINESE 
                           LEADER XI JINPING

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT A. BRADY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 18, 2015

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my 
sincere appreciation for the Republic of China (Taiwan) President Ma 
Ying-jeou's leadership in pursuing long-term peace and stability across 
the Taiwan Strait. President Ma met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 
Singapore on November 7. This meeting was historic and paved the 
foundation for future prosperity and peace in the East Asia region. On 
the same day, our State Department expressed the view that the United 
States welcomes the meeting between leaders on both sides of the Taiwan 
Strait and noted the historic improvement in cross-Strait relations in 
recent years.
  I particularly took notice of President Ma's remarks on the 
importance of consolidation of the ``1992 Consensus'' and the 
maintenance of peace across the Taiwan Strait.
  Below is the summary of President Ma's remarks in meeting with 
mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which explains clearly the origin 
and the meaning of the Consensus and shows how it is consistent with 
the Constitution of the Republic of China. For the full text, please 
visit the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of 
China: http://www.mofa.gov.tw.
  Summary of President Ma's remarks:

       Sustainable peace and prosperity is the common goal in the 
     development of cross-strait relations, and the ``1992 
     Consensus'' is the fundamental basis for achieving this goal. 
     On Aug. 1, 1992, our National Unification Council passed a 
     resolution on the meaning of ``one China,'' which said that 
     both sides of the Taiwan Strait insist on the ``one China'' 
     principle, but they differ as to what that means. The 
     consensus reached between the two sides in November 1992 is 
     that both sides of the Taiwan Strait insist on the ``one 
     China'' principle, and each side can express its 
     interpretation verbally; this is the 1992 Consensus of ``one 
     China, respective interpretations.'' For our part, we stated 
     that the interpretation does not involve ``two Chinas,'' 
     ``one China and one Taiwan,'' or ``Taiwan independence,'' as 
     the Republic of China Constitution does not allow it. This 
     position is very clear, and is accepted by the majority of 
     the people of Taiwan . . . The two sides have together 
     created a model for the peaceful resolution of disputes that 
     should be further consolidated until it becomes the normal 
     state of affairs.
       Another goal is the reduction of hostility and the peaceful 
     handling of disputes. Taiwan's people, especially civic 
     leaders, have a negative impression of situations such as our 
     tourists being refused admission to the United Nations 
     Headquarters because of their passport, frustrations our 
     experts have had in participating in NGO meetings, and 
     interventions we have faced when engaging in bilateral or 
     multilateral cooperation on trade. The two sides ought to 
     begin by reducing hostility and confrontation on these 
     fronts. Those participating in these activities are mostly 
     intellectuals or members of our middle class, and this 
     affects our work pertaining to cross-strait ties, and also 
     the impression our citizens have of the mainland.
       We hope for expansion of cross-strait exchanges and mutual 
     benefits. The two sides should move quickly to deal with 
     issues that are currently still under negotiation, including 
     the trade-in-goods agreement, reciprocal establishment of 
     representative offices, and flight transfers in Taiwan for 
     mainland Chinese travelers. We are currently applying to join 
     the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and hope to join the 
     Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in the 
     future. Because these two mechanisms would account for 
     approximately 70 percent of our external trade, we cannot 
     afford not to participate in them. We believe there should be 
     no issue as to which side joins first and which side later.
       We proposed establishment of a cross-strait hotline to 
     handle important or urgent matters. There is no contact 
     mechanism between the heads of MAC and TAO. We should take 
     this opportunity to establish one. Of course, further 
     adjustments could be made to raise the level of contact 
     should the need arise in the future. It will be beneficial 
     for both sides to be able to promptly handle important 
     unexpected or crucial matters.
       Joint cooperation leads to cross-strait prosperity. I want 
     to reiterate that the people of both sides are Chinese, 
     descendants of the emperors Yan and Huang, sharing a common 
     lineage, history, and culture. The two sides should cooperate 
     to promote cross-strait prosperity. History has bequeathed 
     the two sides a convoluted relationship, and cross-strait 
     exchanges have led to new problems. These issues cannot be 
     resolved overnight. In exchanges and consultations, the two 
     sides need to face the issues squarely, move forward step by 
     step, and build mutual trust.
       The peace and prosperity achieved over the last seven years 
     is proof that the two sides have beaten their swords into 
     plowshares, becoming models for stability in the East Asia 
     region as a whole. The two sides need to be confident of 
     this. We hope the mainland Chinese side fully understands 
     this, and realizes that cross-strait relations should be 
     built on the foundation of dignity, respect, sincerity, and 
     good will, for only this will lead to deeper mutual trust, 
     and enable us to go the distance.

  Mr. Speaker, there is much to be done to ensure peace and freedom of 
navigation in the South China Sea and in the Taiwan Strait. But, this 
historic meeting will go a long way towards a peaceful future for East 
Asia and for the world.

[[Page 18498]]



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