Cross-Strait Talks in Hong Kong — Later Called the ‘1992 Consensus’

Source: 1992 Consensus
From: Wikipedia
Date: Last revised September 1, 2017. Author: Collaborative editors

The “1992 Consensus” is a political term related to cross-strait relations. It refers to an unwritten tacit understanding (i.e., with no written agreement or convention, and no legal effect) that gradually formed through oral negotiations following the 1992 Hong Kong talks between the Straits Exchange Foundation and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits — the authorised non-governmental organisations of the two sides. However, what it actually means remains contested between the two shores. Within Taiwan, the pan-blue camp regards the 1992 Consensus as a concrete consensus on both sides agreeing to “one China, each side with its own interpretation,” while the pan-green camp maintains that there were only “1992 talks” but no consensus on a “1992 Consensus,” and the mainland side holds that the 1992 Consensus simply means “one China” — meaning the internationally widely recognised PRC — with no scope for each side’s own interpretation.

At the 1992 Hong Kong talks, the two sides did not reach a broad consensus, and the term “1992 Consensus” had not yet appeared. It was not until April 28, 2000 — during the transition period following the ROC presidential election — that then-Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi first proposed the term “1992 Consensus,” defining it as “one China, each side with its own interpretation,” after which it was incorporated into the Kuomintang’s party platform.

 

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External Links

• 1992 Hong Kong Talks (Wikipedia)
• Analysis: Lifting the Fog around the “1992 Consensus” and the “1992 Talks” (BBC Chinese)
• Ma Ying-jeou: If the 1992 Consensus Isn’t a Consensus, What Is? (China Times)
• Decoding the “1992 Consensus” — Imagining DPP–CPC Dialogue (Initium Media)