By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should be held accountable for the “one country, two areas (一國兩區)” concept, which is tantamount to surrendering Taiwan to China, pro-localization groups said yesterday.
Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), convener of the Taiwan National Alliance, told a press conference that Taiwan does not belong to China and Wu’s “one country, two areas” proposal was an “offense against the external security of the state (外患罪)” because his remarks had led others to think that Taiwan is a region within China.
Wu sparked a heated political debate when he mentioned the “one country, two areas” concept during a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on Thursday.
Wu said he was authorized by Ma, who doubles as the KMT chairman, to present the proposal.
Yao said his group would ally with the Taiwan Solidarity Union — who filed a lawsuit against Ma in October last year, accusing him of treason by conspiring with China to create the so-called “1992 consensus” — and discuss further measures to hold Ma accountable.
The president might have committed treason by condoning the concept, Yao said.
The “one country, two areas” proposal marks the beginning of a new phase of Ma’s kowtowing to Beijing and he has renounced Taiwan’s sovereignty and downgraded Taiwan’s status from a country to a region similar to Hong Kong, former representative to Japan Lo Fu-chen (羅福全) said during the same press conference.
Neither the US nor Japan recognizes Taiwan as part of China, but now Ma is suggesting that Taiwan is part of China, Lo added.
Trying to put to rest the controversy over the nature of relations between Taiwan and China, Presidential Office spokesperson Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) said on Monday that the complete definition of cross-strait ties was “one Republic of China [ROC], two areas.”
The Taiwan Youth Public Affairs Association said it sent two letters to Hu yesterday afternoon and asked him if he was aware that the “one country” was the ROC. Association president Tseng Tsung-kai (曾琮愷) mailed the letters in separate envelopes, one addressed to “Beijing, Mainland Area, ROC” and the other to “Beijing, People’s Republic of China.”
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday also urged Ma to clearly explain to the public why he and the KMT unilaterally made such a crucial decision about Taiwan’s status without authorization from the public.
DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said the concept was presented without prior consultation with the Mainland Affairs Council or the National Security Bureau — the nation’s top China policymaking body and intelligence agency — and has breached Ma’s own pledge that Taiwan’s future would be decided by its 23 million people.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang and CNA