The “Cross-Strait Exchange and Cooperation Outlook Forum” hosted by Kuomintang-Communist Party think tanks opened in Beijing on the 3rd. Song Tao, director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, stressed in his speech the need to “uphold the 1992 Consensus and oppose Taiwan independence.” In an interview, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said Song’s remarks were unfriendly and not straightforward, sounding more like a lecture than an exchange.
Song’s remarks ‘unfriendly and not straightforward’
KMT Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen led a delegation to Beijing to attend the KMT-CCP think tank forum. In his speech, Song emphasized “upholding the 1992 Consensus,” calling Taiwan independence the biggest threat to peace in the Taiwan Strait. He stated that Beijing would never be lenient toward stubborn Taiwan independence forces or their accomplices and would not tolerate external forces attempting to stir trouble in the Taiwan Strait to contain China, promising to strike decisively.
In response, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng, before attending the opening tea session of the “Reading Hong Kong in Taiwan” section, said Song’s remarks were unfriendly and not straightforward, sounding more like a lecture than a dialogue.
Chiu noted that the current cross-Strait situation is tense mainly because of Beijing’s complex pressures on Taiwan in recent years, including military aircraft and naval harassment, diplomatic suppression, economic coercion, social infiltration, gray-zone provocations, and cognitive warfare. These pressures target the military, government officials, prosecutors, and ordinary citizens, involving cross-border repression and long-arm jurisdiction.
Chiu pointed out that cases of Taiwanese citizens going missing, being questioned or detained, or having their personal freedom legally restricted in mainland China have risen sharply. Last year there were 221 such cases—four times more than the 55 cases the year before—showing that the risks for Taiwanese traveling to China have significantly increased.
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Chiu: Regret that KMT ignores CCP hostility
Chiu criticized that China’s military leadership is currently undergoing a purge during a period of instability. Despite this, the KMT has ignored the CCP’s growing hostility toward Taiwan and the worsening cross-Strait situation, still insisting on catering to the CCP’s political stance of “upholding the 1992 Consensus and opposing Taiwan independence” by holding the forum. “We express our regret,” he said.
Regarding Song’s mention of promoting cross-Strait tourism exchanges, Chiu said the government’s position remains that tourism cooperation should first be communicated via the “Little Cross-Strait Mechanism.” He added that China often uses tourism as an economic coercion tool—suspending travel abruptly—and cited China’s suspension of mainland tourists to Japan over comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan as a clear example. Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau formally contacted China’s Tourism Bureau in February last year to express a willingness to communicate, and awaits a reply.
Scholars: KMT-CCP forum is aligned with CCP’s united front
According to the Liberty Times, National Cheng Kung University political science professor Wang Hong-ren analyzed that the KMT attended this forum because it seeks favor from the CCP, with party chair Zheng Li-wen hoping for a “Zheng-Xi meeting.” The KMT initially claimed the forum would focus on industry and economic issues, but how could it avoid political implications? Simply being allowed to attend signals agreement with the 1992 Consensus.
Wang criticized that the 1992 Consensus has long been distorted into a variant of the “One China Principle” or “One Country, Two Systems.” Participating in the forum only falls into the CCP’s trap, aiding its united front, and does nothing to promote peace.
