Former president's speech stresses 92 consensus / 馬對港錄影演說 重申九二共識一中各表

Last night, former president Ma Ying-jeou delivered a speech via teleconference at the award dinner of the Society of Publishers in Asia. In his speech, he stressed the close ties that exist between Taiwan and Hong Kong, reminded his audience the importance of the 1992 consensus, and proudly talked about the achievements he has made in improving cross-strait relations. Ma filed applications for his visit to Hong Kong on June 1st, but was rejected by the Presidential Office on the 12th. For this, he couldn't help to be a little bit sarcastic at the beginning of his speech. ==Ma YING JEOU, Former President== The reason for my absence is quite curious. The new administration in Taiwan, which took office less than a month ago, considers that my trip to Hong Kong might cause some national security problems. Those problems include possible leakage of state secrets and inadequate protection of my personal safety.Well, I didn't know that Hong Kong is such a dangerous place. Ladies and gentlemen, you better watch out. The theme of Ma speech was centered on cross-strait relations after the meeting between him and Xi Jing Ping last November. He emphasized that the ground of this largest improvement in cross-strait relations since 1949 was the 1992 consensus. ==Ma YING JEOU, Former President== I was able to meet with mainland Chinese leader Xi Jin Ping in Singapore on November 7 of last year. That was the first meeting between cross-strait leaders in the 66 years since the two sides came under separate rule in 1949. During that meeting, both sides affirmed that the shared foundation of "consolidating cross-strait peace and maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait" is the 92 Consensus. It was the 92 Consensus that allowed our minister of health and welfare to formally attend the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) eight times in a row after an absence of 38 years. This was all possible because while we were improving cross-strait relations, we also adopted a new approach to foreign relations called "viable diplomacy." Ma said that cross-strait relations have improved tremendously in the past eight years, bringing peace and prosperity to the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, he expressed his hope for the trend to be continued under the new government. Ma, who was actually born in Hong Kong in the 1950s, proved his local language skills to the audience by greeting them in Cantonese. Commenting on the close ties between Taiwan and Hong Kong, he stressed that both sides have been through turbulent times, defending the Diaoyutai Islands together, and standing in solidarity during the 1989 Democracy Movement in Tiananmen Square. Ma will hold a press conference this morning and receive questions from the press. TRANSLATED BY：JEFF CHANG 馬英九6月1號向總統府提出赴港申請，12號府方以國安為由，不同意馬英九赴港出席活動及演說，馬英九昨晚在主辦單位亞洲出版業協會（SOPA）安排下，透過視訊發表演說，一開始就忍不住調侃新政府。 ==前總統馬英九== 本人缺席的原因有點奇怪 上任不到一個月的台灣新政府認為 我的香港行 可能對國家安全造成問題 包括可能洩露國家機密 以及對我的人身安全保護有所不足 喔 我不知道原來香港 是這麼危險的地方 各位女士與先生 你們最好小心了 馬英九這次視訊演講的主題，是去年11月新加坡「馬習會」後的兩岸關係。他強調，過去八年，兩岸關係出現1949年以來最大的變化，變化的基礎就是「九二共識、一中各表」。 ==前總統 馬英九== 去年11月7日 我在新加坡 與大陸領導人習近平先生會面 是兩岸1949年 隔海分治66年後第一次 雙方在會中確認 鞏固兩岸和平 維持台海現狀的共同基礎 就是「九二共識」 因為「九二共識」 我們才能連續8次派衛生部長 正式參加睽違38年的世界衛生大會 這是因為我們改善兩岸關係的同時 也採取務實的活路外交 馬英九表示，過去八年來兩岸關係的大幅改善，更為亞太地區帶來和平與繁榮。他希望在台灣政黨輪替後，這個趨勢仍可持續下去。1950年在香港出生的馬英九，在演說過程中秀了3句廣東話，向在場的香港與會者問好。提到香港競爭力在全球奪冠時，馬英九還俏皮地幫香港拍拍手。他強調,香港與台灣一同走過風雨飄搖的年代，一起保衛釣魚臺，一起經歷天安門廣場上的六四民運。兩地的關係仍在持續深化中。今天上午馬英九也將在台北舉行記者會，接受媒體提問。 記者 歐陽梅芬 劉漢麟 報導