00:00The vice chair of the Kuomintang, Taiwan's main opposition party, and around 40 Taiwanese scholars
00:06met with Chinese Communist Party representatives in Beijing for a cross-strait forum.
00:11The forum, which also included Chinese scholars, focused on ways to cooperate in areas like tourism,
00:18environmental protection, and industrial development, which the two parties said will
00:22benefit people on both sides of the strait. This is happening amid high tensions between
00:28Taiwan and China. Communication at the national level has been completely cut off since 2016,
00:34with China's government calling the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and Taiwan
00:38President Lai Qingde separatist. But the KMT has warmer relations with China, and often says
00:45cross-strait communication is important for maintaining peace. It says this forum is part
00:50of efforts to foster exchange. KMT vice chair Xiao Xu Chen and China's Taiwan affairs office head
00:57Song Tao both advocated opposing Taiwanese independence and adhering to the 1992 consensus,
01:03which is basically an understanding that the KMT interprets as both sides belonging to
01:09one China, with each side free to interpret what that China means. Taiwan's ruling Democratic
01:16Progressive Party has never accepted this consensus, and says China uses it to reinforce its territorial
01:22claims to Taiwan. One expert says the KMT hopes to use the forum to develop future ties with Beijing.
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01:50but President Lai on Tuesday appeared to criticize the KMT for holding a forum with China while also working to block a special defense budget widely seen as crucial to countering threats from China
02:10Rai on Tuesday
02:40Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, which handles relations with China, also criticized the forum.
02:52It said it deeply regrets that the KMT still insists on adhering to the 1992 consensus,
02:59which it says is part of Chinese policies that aim to eliminate Taiwan's sovereignty.
03:04It also said that this forum cannot replace official cross-strait communication channels
03:08and said China should work with Taiwan's democratically elected government,
03:13reminding the KMT it's against the law to sign any political agreements with China without government authorization.
03:20So even as the KMT paints this meeting as beneficial for Taiwan's people and businesses,
03:26the government pushback here is revealing a widening political divide.
03:31Luffy Lee, Scott Wong, and Cadence Quaranta for Taiwan Plus.
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