Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said on the 2nd that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should immediately "abolish the Taiwan independence party platform." In response, Liang Wenjie, Deputy Minister and Spokesperson of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said, "Whether the DPP abandons its Taiwan independence party platform, I think this is a matter for the party."
According to Central News Agency, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) held a regular press conference on the afternoon of the 2nd, hosted by Liang Wenjie. On the same morning, Zhu Fenglian said at the Taiwan Affairs Office's regular press conference that, "If the DPP truly thinks there is no problem of Taiwan independence, it should immediately abolish the Taiwan independence party platform, cease Taiwan independence separatist activities, acknowledge the 1992 Consensus that embodies the one-China principle, and take concrete actions to improve cross-strait relations."
In the afternoon, Liang Wenjie stated that, "The Republic of China is a sovereign country, and is not subordinate to the People's Republic of China. This is an objective fact and the cross-strait status quo that must be defended. There is no so-called Taiwan independence issue, only the issue of being forcibly unified."
He said: "Whether the DPP wants to abandon its Taiwan independence party platform, I think that is a matter for the party."
Liang Wenjie countered that the Chinese Communist Party calls itself a communist party, but does anyone now consider the other side to be a communist country? "No, and we aren't asking you to change your name either"; the Kuomintang (KMT) party charter mentions Three Principles of the People and the Five-Power Constitution, yet now some in the KMT are proposing to abolish the Control Yuan. If so, where does the Five-Power Constitution stand? "We haven't asked the KMT to amend its party charter either."
He reiterated that these statements don't mean much, "The status quo as we understand it is that the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other. This is the status quo we must defend."