During the eight years of his administration, the one political achievement that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has most enjoyed flaunting to the outside world is having improved Taiwan’s relationship with China, which Ma never fails to emphasize is a result of adhering to the so-called “1992 consensus.”
In reality, the side effects of this “consensus” have begun surfacing in front of the public eye one after the other. This includes Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) surprising reluctance to acknowledge the existence of the Republic of China (ROC), which is tantamount to renouncing national sovereignty.