The photo taken on July 14, 2020 shows Golden Bauhinia Square in South China's Hong Kong. A forum held in China's Special Administrative Region to mark the 30th anniversary of the Consensus in 1992, PHOTO XINHUA HONG KONG emphasized the one-China principle and opposed Taiwan independence. The 1992 Consensus refers to the consensus reached by the Taiwan-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits ARATS and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation in 1992.
After talks in Hong Kong in October of that year and a series of subsequent correspondence and telephone exchanges, they agreed to state that the two sides of the Taiwan Straits adhere to the one-China principle. The idea of the 1992 Consensus is that both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one China and will work together toward national reunification. ALSO READ: CE: Passing of Jiang loss beyond measure to country
ARATS President Zhang Zhijun said via video that the past 30 years have fully proved that when the 1992 Consensus and the One-China principle are upheld, cross-Strait relations will improve and develop, and that compatriots in Taiwan will benefit from it, while denying the 1992 Consensus and deviating from the One-China principle will cause strained and volatile cross-Strait relations and undermine the interests of compatriots in Taiwan.
The 1992 Consensus remains the anchor for improving and developing relations across the Taiwan Straits, no matter how cross-Strait ties change over time, he said.
Luo Yonggang, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in HKSAR, said Hong Kong, as an important witness to the achievement of the Consensus of 1992, has always played an important role in the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.
As members of the big family of the Chinese nation, Hong Kong compatriots have the responsibility and obligation to support the One-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, continue to promote exchanges and cooperation between Hong Kong and Taiwan in various fields, and jointly advance national reunification, he said.
Hung Hsiu-chu, the former chairperson of the Chinese Kuomintang party, said in a video address that the 1992 Consensus very clearly defines the fundamental nature of cross-Strait relations, that is, the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China.
She hopes that both sides of the Taiwan Straits will continue to adhere to the 1992 Consensus and create a more favorable environment and conditions for peaceful reunification, as a result of the 1992 Consensus, and temporarily put aside their differences and open the door to exchanges and dialogue.
One country, two systems were proposed by the central government to solve the Taiwan question, but it was first put into practice in Hong Kong, according to Chan Kwok-ki, chief secretary for administration of the HKSAR government.
He said that one country, two systems, is the best institutional arrangement for maintaining the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong since its return to the motherland and that Hong Kong compatriots will make contributions to the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and China's peaceful reunification.
The forum was co-organized by the China Review Think Tank Foundation and the Cross-Strait Peaceful Development Federation on Monday.