Zheng Liwen visits Kinmen on 823 anniversary, urges Lai to accept 1992 Consensus.

Today marks the 68th anniversary of the August 23 Artillery Bombardment. This military conflict, which holds a pivotal place in the history of the Taiwan Strait, was not only a critical battle in which Taiwan's military and civilians used their blood and resilience to defend the frontlines of democracy and freedom, but today—amid unpredictable cross-strait relations and geopolitical competition—Kinmen, once a frontline battlefield, has once again become a focal point of public attention and an important stage for political posturing. On this commemorative day, deeply rich in historical memory and political significance, Kuomintang Chairperson Cheng Li-wun traveled specifically to Kinmen to attend related commemorative events. In media interviews, she put forward concrete proposals regarding the currently deadlocked and frequently escalating cross-strait relations, calling on the ruling party to shift its mindset on cross-strait policies in order to genuinely secure long-term peace and stability for the Taiwan Strait.

In the remarks delivered in Kinmen, Cheng's core appeal focused on how to break the current stalemate in official cross-strait interactions. She explicitly pointed out that if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government genuinely wishes to forge lasting peace in the Taiwan Strait and avoid the perilous path of military conflict, the solution is clear and feasible. She argued that as long as President Lai Ching-te is willing to acknowledge the 1992 Consensus—which has served as the political password for cross-strait interaction over the past few decades—on the basis of the Republic of China Constitution, the doors between the two sides can reopen. Through this political premise, both sides could not only resume long-stagnant contacts and dialogue, but further promote various civilian and official exchanges. This move would immediately and substantially reduce current high-tension cross-strait friction, sparing Taiwanese society and grassroots citizens from the fear and threat of war.

Reviewing the historical context of the August 23 battle, the 1958 Taiwan Strait crisis was the largest-scale armed conflict resulting from the continuation of the Chinese Civil War. That year, the island of Kinmen endured hundreds of thousands of artillery shellings over consecutive weeks. Under extremely difficult material conditions and life-or-death circumstances, the island's military and civilians demonstrated a shared, unified resistance. Ultimately, they successfully defended the Kinmen and Matsu frontlines while laying a security foundation for Taiwan's economic development and democratic transition over the subsequent decades. In Taiwan's collective memory, this history has always represented that "peace does not come easily" and "the importance of national defense self-reliance." However, with the passage of time, Kinmen has transformed from the vanguard of military confrontation into a hub for cross-strait exchanges and the Three Small Links. Raising the topic of peace on a commemorative day full of such historical contrasts highlights the complex political implications intertwined between history and reality.

However, the "1992 Consensus" solution proposed by Cheng has historically been a highly controversial issue lacking societal consensus within Taiwan's current political ecology. The DPP government has consistently maintained that the 1992 Consensus as defined by Beijing has compressed the Republic of China's survival space into the framework of "one China, two systems." Accepting such a political premise would be tantamount to abandoning Taiwan's sovereignty and democratic way of life. Consequently, President Lai Ching-te and his administration have repeatedly emphasized the stance of maintaining the status quo when handling cross-strait relations, calling on the People's Republic of China to face the reality of the Republic of China's existence and restart dialogue on the basis of mutual non-subordination. Under this structural divergence, the opposition party chairperson's choice to reiterate the 1992 Consensus on August 23—a date symbolizing the historical intertwining of the KMT and the CCP—is not only a direct challenge to the ruling party's cross-strait policies, but also once again highlights the internal divisions and tug-of-war within Taiwan over national positioning and paths for cross-strait interaction.

From the macro perspective of geopolitics and regional security, the current situation in the Taiwan Strait is widely regarded by the international community as one of the world's most potential conflict risk hotspots. The United States and other like-minded democracies continue to support Taiwan's self-defense capabilities through arms sales and diplomatic gestures, while consistently urging both Beijing and Taipei to exercise restraint, manage differences through meaningful dialogue, and avoid miscalculations that could trigger uncontrollable military conflict. Within this closely intertwined international environment of U.S.-China-Taiwan trilateral relations, any internal political proposition in Taiwan—whether the opposition's "1992 Consensus theory" or the ruling party's "mutual non-subordination theory"—is scrutinized and becomes a key indicator for all parties assessing future trends in the Taiwan Strait. Although 68 years have passed since the August 23 battle, the lessons history left to future generations remain profound. How to strike a balance between safeguarding the values of democracy and freedom and maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait tests the wisdom and political resolve of all politicians.

(Source of Facts: Central News Agency)