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The "Consensus of 1992" (Chinese:九二共識) described an agreement, alledgely reached by semi-official representatives of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, to adhere to the "one China" principle, but agreeing to disagree on the meaning of "one China." The content and the existence of this consensus is widely disputed across the Taiwan strait and among the residents of Taiwan.
Wang-Koo talks
The so-called "1992 consensus" resulted from a November 1992 meeting in Hong Kong between the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). These semi-official bodies were authorized by their respective governments to negotiate solutions to practical problems that had arisen from growing cross-strait commerce. The conclusion they reached was intended as a means of side-stepping the conflict over the political status of Taiwan.
As a result of the 1992 meeting, ARATS Chairman Wang Daohan and SEF Chairman Koo Chen-fu met in Singapore on April 27, 1993 in what became known as the "Wang-Koo talks." They concluded agreements on document authentication, postal transfers, and a schedule for future ARATS-SEF meetings.
Talks were delayed as tensions rose in the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, but in October 1998 a second round of "Wang-Koo talks" were held in Shanghai. Wang and Koo agreed to meet again in Taiwan in the autumn of 1999, but the meeting was called off by the mainland side when President Lee Teng-hui proposed his "two-states theory" whereby each side would treat the other as separate state. This statement infuriated PRC, and talks have not occurred since.
Dispute over the 1992 Consensus
Both Hsu Huei-yu and Koo Chen-fu, who participated in the 1992 meeting as SEF delegates, have publicly affirmed that the meeting did not result into any consensus on the "one China" issue. Instead, both side agreed to proceed future meetings on an equal basis with mutual respect. THe Chief of the ROC Mainland Affairs Council also clarified that there was no consensus was reached as a result of the 1992 meeting and that the term "Consensus of 1992" was introduced only by the mass media in 1995, three years after 1992. Some Taiwan independence supporters, such as President Lee Teng-hui, point to a lack of documentation to support that the consensus never existed.
Since the breakdown of talks, there have been numerous proposals, mainly from the PRC and the Pan-Blue Coalition, to resume negotiations under the "1992 Consensus." There is much disagreement over the nature of this "consensus." While mainland and Pan-Blue politicians claim there was agreement on the one-China principle, the Pan-Green Coalition insist that it was only a mutual understanding that did not touch on the issue of the "one China."
In his second inauguration speech, President Chen Shui-bian expressed his willingness in initiate dialogue with PRC leaders "in the spirit which lead to the talk of 1992." Meanwhile, the PRC has made the "1992 consensus," in which PRC emphasizes the recognition of "one China," as a prerequisite for any official interaction across the Taiwan strait. President Chen has rejected any recognition of the "one China principle" on that grounds that would imply the PRC is the "one China" with Taiwan part of China. The Pan-Blue Coalition has instead emphasized the concept of "one China, different interpretations" in promoting the resumption of dialogue under the "1992 Consensus."
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