by Brian Hioe

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English
Photo Credit: Eric Chu/Facebook

AN ANNUAL CROSS-STRAIT forum, the 14th Straits Forum in Xiamen, resulted in the KMT again vowing to uphold the 1992 Consensus. The Straits Forum normally takes place in May or June, but COVID-19 in past years have led the forum to be postponed to September 2020 and December 2021. 

This year, senior KMT representatives did not physically travel to Xiamen, with the claim being that this was due to the effects of COVID-19. But KMT vice chair Andrew Hsia delivered a pre-recorded video message, emphasizing the 1992 Consensus as the bedrock of stable cross-strait exchanges. 

It is possible that Hsia did not travel to the Straits Forum physically to downplay the importance of the speech, with other KMT members such as Hung Hsiu-chu having traveled to China in a similar timeframe. This included visits by Hung to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics and to Xinjiang, where she praised Chinese efforts at “anti-terrorism” and dismissed claims of mass detention camps in Xinjiang. 

Before the forum took place, the Chinese government stated that it expected 2,000 Taiwanese to attend the forum. On the other hand, the Mainland Affairs Council warned Taiwanese not to attend the forum, so as to avoid being caught up in China’s United Front activities directed toward Taiwan. Central government officials are banned from participating in the Straits Forum. 

What proves interesting is Hsia’s emphasis on the 1992 Consensus at a time in which the KMT under Eric Chu has been emphatic on efforts to turn the KMT’s image around. This has included a pivot to the US, with Chu emphasizing that the KMT is an anti-communist party, and claiming that the KMT has been unfairly depicted as a pro-unification party. The US pivot has primarily taken place in the context of the KMT reopening its Washington DC office and Chu making a widely publicized diplomatic trip to the US. 

Chu is evidently willing to take significant political risks as part of his attempt to change the KMT’s image. This can be observed in Chu expressing support for the ROC government lowering the flag to half-staff in mourning for assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, something that led to protests by the New Party when the flag was lowered at the KMT party headquarters, and criticisms from deep Blue figures such as Hung Hsiu-chu, Jaw Shaw-kung, and Chang Ya-chung. 

It is unclear to what extent Hsia’s speech at the Straits Forum reflected the views of the party central, under Chu, or whether he did so on his own. Chu recently claimed during his US visit that the 1992 Consensus was a “non-consensus consensus”. As with a previous incident in which in response to China’s recent emphasis on claims over the 1992 Consensus, the KMT responded that “The ROC is a sovereign and independent country, the PRC has never controlled Taiwan,” Chu was criticized by deep Blues for his casting of doubt on the 1992 Consensus, with Chang Ya-chung and other politicians responding that there was not any lack of clarity on the 1992 Consensus. 

KMT chair Eric Chu. Photo credit: Eric Chu/Facebook

Chu’s rhetoric is noteworthy, in that his emphasis on anti-communism may be attempting to bridge the gap between deep Blues that are ROC adherents, and an image rebrand that could change the KMT’s pro-China image. It is possible that the KMT is trying to convey multiple messages to different audiences more broadly, in trying to convince the US that it is an ally and opposed to China, while at the same time trying to convince China that it continues to have a view that there is only One China, and that nothing has changed in terms of the KMT’s adherence to the 1992 Consensus. 

This may not be the first time that conflicted messaging has taken place with the Straits Forum. The KMT did not attend the 2020 forum in protest of reports by Chinese state-run media claiming that the party planned on suing for peace at the forum, perhaps to avoid being perceived as too strongly pro-unification through attendance after the forum was framed as such by Chinese media. 

Nevertheless, it also could be that the KMT continues to be internally split, even among individuals serving under Chu, and that this is what has resulted in conflicted messaging from the KMT. One notes that the KMT’s statement that “The ROC is a sovereign and independent country, the PRC has never controlled Taiwan” took place after the KMT’s top envoy to the US, Alexander Huang, expressed support for China’s stance that the Taiwan Strait is its territorial waters and are not an international waterway. This perhaps reflects the weakness of Chu’s position in the KMT, in that he is unable to keep party officials that are his subordinates in check, so as to ensure consistent messaging for the party. 

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