TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) is planning to gift two sika deer to China's Fuzhou city as a gesture of goodwill and peace, reports said Wednesday (Oct. 16). 

During a Matsu Islands visit, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said the foundation is working with Chinese counterparts to send a pair of Matsu's native sika deer, according to a press release. The deer are named He-he (和和) and Ping-ping (平平) after the Mandarin word for “peace,” to represent Taiwanese people’s pursuit of the ideal, he said.

Luo said China’s recent military drills around Taiwan “cast a shadow on the road to peace.” He said both countries have their own historical interpretations of the current situation, and although achieving peace will be difficult, both sides should avoid “embarking on the road of hatred.”

The plan to gift the deer is being assessed by China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), Luo said.

Luo said the Matsu Islands are one of the main places for Taiwan-China tourism exchanges. He said he hopes that Chinese tourists can see the peacefulness represented by He-he and Ping-ping when they visit.

Luo also oversaw the opening of an SEF service center. While there, Luo proposed cross-strait relations might move on from the “1992 Consensus” toward something he called the “26 Consensus,” in reference to historic military sites on the islands named the “26 Strongholds.”

When asked about this by reporters, Luo said the “1992 Consensus” is outdated and not a consensus among Taiwanese people. He said the idea is based on Beijing’s “one China, one country, two systems” plan, without room for alternative interpretations.

Luo said that if the “1992 Consensus” does not have space for Taiwan, it cannot serve as a basis for cross-strait relations.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Spokesperson Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said there was no need to reconsider the “1992 Consensus” when asked about Luo's suggestion at a press conference later on Wednesday, per New Talk.