The “1992 Consensus”

The “1992 Consensus” was an oral agreement reached between the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), resulting from talks they held between late October and early December of 1992. The two non-governmental organizations agreed that “both sides of the Taiwan Straits will follow the one-China principle,” and this subsequently became the political foundation for cross-Straits consultations.

The kernel of the “1992 Consensus” is the “one-China principle,” which means seeking common ground while reserving differences. The “1992 Consensus” defines cross-Straits relations as neither “state-to-state” nor “one China, one Taiwan,” but confirms the fact that the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China.

The “1992 Consensus” is the foundation on which cross-Straits relations can progress positively in peace and stability. It therefore holds the key to peaceful development between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits. By recognizing the “1992 Consensus” and accepting that the two sides both belong to one China, both sides can conduct dialog to address through discussion the concerns of the people of both sides, and no political party or group in Taiwan will have any difficulty in conducting exchanges with the mainland.

Addressing the meeting in January 2019 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the publication of the Message to Our Compatriots in Taiwan, Xi Jinping made a call that, on the shared political foundation of the “1992 Consensus” and struggle against “Taiwan independence,” the political parties and people from all walks of life on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, select their representatives to conduct extensive democratic consultations on cross-Straits relations and the future of the Chinese nation, and make institutional plans for promoting peaceful development of cross-Straits relations,

“九二共識(shí)”

1992年10月底至12月初，中國(guó)大陸的民間團(tuán)體——海峽兩岸關(guān)系協(xié)會(huì)與臺(tái)灣的民間團(tuán)體——海峽交流基金會(huì)，經(jīng)過多次磋商，最終形成了以口頭方式表達(dá)的“海峽兩岸均堅(jiān)持一個(gè)中國(guó)的原則”的共識(shí)，為實(shí)現(xiàn)和推進(jìn)兩岸協(xié)商奠定政治基礎(chǔ)，后被稱為“九二共識(shí)”。其核心是“堅(jiān)持一個(gè)中國(guó)”，精髓是求同存異?！熬哦沧R(shí)”明確界定了兩岸關(guān)系的根本性質(zhì)，即大陸與臺(tái)灣同屬一個(gè)中國(guó)，兩岸關(guān)系不是國(guó)與國(guó)關(guān)系，也不是“一中一臺(tái)”?！熬哦沧R(shí)”是兩岸關(guān)系保持和平穩(wěn)定和良性互動(dòng)的基礎(chǔ)，是確保兩岸關(guān)系和平發(fā)展的關(guān)鍵。承認(rèn)“九二共識(shí)”的歷史事實(shí)，認(rèn)同兩岸同屬一個(gè)中國(guó)，兩岸雙方就能開展對(duì)話，協(xié)商解決兩岸同胞關(guān)心的問題，臺(tái)灣任何政黨和團(tuán)體同大陸交往也不會(huì)存在障礙。2019年1月在《告臺(tái)灣同胞書》發(fā)表40周年紀(jì)念會(huì)上，習(xí)近平發(fā)出鄭重倡議，在堅(jiān)持“九二共識(shí)”、反對(duì)“臺(tái)獨(dú)”的共同政治基礎(chǔ)上，兩岸各政黨、各界別推舉代表性人士，就兩岸關(guān)系和民族未來開展廣泛深入的民主協(xié)商，就推動(dòng)兩岸關(guān)系和平發(fā)展達(dá)成制度性安排。