TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Most people in Taiwan support maintaining the cross-strait status quo, but the phrase has not been clearly defined, former National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起) said Tuesday, CNA reported.
Responding to comments by American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene, Su said he agreed that about 70% of people in Taiwan support the status quo. However, he said the term remains unclear because it could refer to cross-strait relations in either 2016 or 2026, which he said are very different.
Su said former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) used the phrase during her 2016 presidential campaign to describe cross-strait ties near the end of former President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration. At the time, Taiwan and China still had direct contact, and Ma had met Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Su said the US continued to sell arms to Taiwan during that period. He said Taiwan’s cross-strait policy also had broad public support at the time.
Su said the meaning of “maintaining the status quo” began to change after US-China relations worsened during the 2018 trade war. He said Tsai used the phrase less often and later made “mutual non-subordination” a key part of her cross-strait policy.
Mutual non-subordination means Taiwan and China do not belong to each other. The idea has become an important part of how Taiwan’s government describes cross-strait relations.
Su said the 2016 status quo was based on cross-strait engagement under Ma. He said the current debate is shaped more by the view that Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other.
Su said Taiwan has used the phrase “status quo” for too long without explaining it clearly. He said the public should reconsider what kind of cross-strait relationship Taiwan should pursue.
