At Brookings (and often elsewhere) Ma probably deliberately conflated the one China principle with the one China policy. Not many people can sort out the difference, especially with our incompetent media out there screwing it up all the time. But of course Fonte does...
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DPP U.S. Mission Response to comments on cross-strait relations by former President Ma
Following remarks by former Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou in a public address at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., this afternoon, the DPP U.S. Mission issued the following response from Mission Director, Michael J. Fonte:
In his 3/7/17 Brookings speech, former President Ma Ying-jeou consistently and wrongly conflated the "one China principle" with the "one China policy."
The US does not recognize China's "one China principle," which claims the PRC's territory and sovereignty include Taiwan. Former President Ma stated that President-elect Trump, talking about his call with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, "complained about the one China principle and why the US has to abide by that." Trump did not use "one China principle."
In his Fox News interview, Trump said, ""I fully understand the 'one China' policy, but I don't know why we have to be bound by a 'one China' policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade."
Ma also said that President Obama, asked about the Trump statement in his Dec. 16, 2016 press conference, also used "one China principle." Not so. Obama noted how important "the idea of one China" is to the Chinese and why one must approach the Taiwan issue with care, but he never used "one China principle."
The US's "one China policy" is quite clear regarding Taiwan's sovereignty - the US acknowledges, but does not recognize, the Chinese position regarding Taiwan as part of China. For the US' one China policy, the Taiwan sovereignty question is undetermined and it is up to both sides to peacefully and mutually agree to a resolution.
Ma's long discourse on the "92 consensus" left out one vital fact: for the PRC, the 1992 consensus means "one China"-the PRC. Full stop. There are no "different interpretations" in the PRC articulation. In response to a question, former President Ma said the "92 consensus" is the "traffic regulation" one must follow if one is to cross the bridge between China and Taiwan. Given that China has rejected "different interpretations," this is a slap in the face to the Taiwanese people.
Ma should have learned long ago: foreign policy critique ought to stop at the water's edge.
Michael J. Fonte
Washington Director
Taiwan DPP Mission in the US
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