KMT Legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴) expressed concerns that the Dalai Lama’s visit might affect the government’s plan to sign an ECFA.
Li Yafei (李亞飛), assistant minister of the TAO, said yesterday that Beijing’s position on the Dalai Lama’s visit to Taiwan was resolute and that the trip was bound to have an adverse effect on cross-strait ties.
Li did not elaborate, adding that Beijing would continue to monitor developments in the visit.
A delegation from the People’s Bank of China postponed its trip to Taiwan for a week, while a financial symposium on cross-strait economics with the Chinese Monetary Society scheduled for today in Taipei was rescheduled to next Monday.
Describing the Dalai Lama’s visit as a “political calculation” of the DPP, KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) urged the Dalai Lama to refrain from falling into a “political whirlpool.”
Wu said he was in favor of the visit, but that many indicators showed that the hard-earned peaceful and stable relationship between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait had changed.
He called on the DPP to refrain from “provoking” Beijing as China had made several “goodwill” gestures since the KMT came to power.
Wu said a majority of Taiwanese believed the direction of the government’s cross-strait policy was correct, adding that “some people” wanted to “create conflict.”
Meanwhile, former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) office yesterday was evasive about the possibility of a meeting between Lee and the Dalai Lama.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) downplayed the political impact of the visit, adding that Taiwanese should help the spiritual leader complete his humanitarian visit.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU AND FLORA WANG
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