Presidential Office rebuts Ma’s ‘1992 consensus’ claimsBy Sean Lin and Chung Li-hua / Staff reportersThe Presidential Office yesterday said it was regrettable that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had attributed China’s recent military activities near Taiwan to President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) refusal to acknowledge the so-called “1992 consensus,” saying that narrative ignored the real situation in the Taiwan Strait. China’s military activities extend beyond the Taiwan Strait to the Pacific, and anyone with a grasp of the international situation understands that China’s disturbance of regional peace is unprovoked, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said. The shift in China’s attitude toward his and Tsai’s administrations was prompted by Tsai’s refusal to acknowledge the “1992 consensus,” which eliminated the basis of mutual trust between Taipei and Beijing, he said. It said that Chinese expansionism has caused escalating tensions in the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea and on the China-India border, and threatens democratic countries. Rather, it should address the views of international observers on the situation in the Taiwan Strait, he said.

Source: Taipei Times August 22, 2020 15:56 UTC