From Bloomberg:
Taiwan is an independent nation and should strive to free itself from China’s influence, former President Lee Teng-hui said on the last day of a trip to Japan.
“Taiwan has been independent, and the Taiwanese people have the clear belief that it is theirs,” Lee, 84, told reporters in Tokyo today. “Taiwan should start walking toward a new direction of freedom and democracy, or else remain forever within China’s fluctuating political influence.” [Full Text]
See also `1992 Consensus’ is a `Dead End’: Chen by Taipei Times:
Basing Taiwan’s diplomatic policy on the so-called “1992 consensus” would only lead Taiwan to “a dead end,” President Chen Shui-bian (Èô≥Ê∞¥ÊâÅ) said yesterday.
Chen made the remark while addressing a group of supporters in Tainan City.
The “1992 consensus” refers to the idea of there being “one China” on each side of the Taiwan Strait, with both sides having their own interpretation of the situation.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has said that the “1992 consensus” was agreed upon by the Chinese Communist Party and the then KMT government at a 1992 meeting in Hong Kong.
Chen’s Democratic Progressive Party, however, has adamantly denied the existence of a “1992 consensus.” [Full Text]
Also read Freedom and Democracy are the Foundation for Cross-Strait Dialogues by Ma Ying-jeou:
… Nevertheless, we are still confident in the maturing of Taiwan’s democracy. We are not afraid of contacting with Mainland China. On the contrary, we support greater exchanges between Beijing and Taipei. This will be conducive to Taiwan’s economic growth as well as the Mainland’s democratic development. It will produce a win-win situation. On the 18th anniversary of the Tiananmen Incident, we must sincerely note that freedom and democracy must be the common language shared by Taiwan and Mainland China. And freedom and democracy is the only key to establishing effective dialogues and building mutual confidence between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. [Full Text]
