Kent Wang of Taiwan’s Overseas Chinese Affairs Council writes that enough positive momentum in Cross-Strait relations exists to warrant a discussion of what a potential peace agreement between Taiwan and China may look like. From The Diplomat:
To sign a peace arrangement, both sides of the Taiwan Strait would have to deal with political issues such as having a precise definition of “one China” and something more explicit than the 1992 consensus. According to the consensus, the two sides of the strait agree that there is only one China, with each side free to interpret that as they wish. Moreover, a peace agreement would require Taiwan to pledge not to declare independence and China would have to declare that it would not use force against Taiwan.
As early as 2005, Taiwanese opposition leader Lian Zhan went to China to meet President Hu Jintao. The KMT and CCP expressed at the time a desire to sign a peace agreement. The KMT returned to power in 2008 and Hu seized the opportunity to improve bilateral relations, announcing his six-point policy for Taiwan. Once again, Beijing raised the issue of a cross-strait peace agreement, demonstrating considerable goodwill and a willingness to cooperate.
In May 2008, President Ma Ying-jeou took office. Based on the 1992 consensus, he proposed a cross-strait provisional framework. He then unilaterally adopted a series of measures to improve relations with China. In January 2012, Ma was re-elected. During the election campaign, he reiterated his vision for a “golden decade.” As part of this vision, he proposed the conditional deliberation and negotiation of a cross-strait peace agreement. The proposal attracted considerable attention. [Source]
Wang also claims that “Taiwanese independence is already outside the realms of feasibility,” and cautions that a peace agreement “is only an interim solution” on the way to reunification.
