President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday reminded law enforcement officers to honor freedom of assembly during cross-strait talks in Taichung and take security measures only when necessary.
Ma also asked government authorities to make public most of the visiting Chinese delegation’s itinerary after complaints about lack of transparency from journalists.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) briefed reporters yesterday after Ma chaired the Presidential Office’s regular morning meeting to discuss media coverage.
Wang said Ma made four points at the meeting. First, law enforcement officers should protect freedom of assembly and avoid security measures that are not necessary.
Second, the itinerary of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) should be as open and transparent as possible.
“The president thinks media and pan-green supporters should have access to information on Chen’s itinerary,” Wang said. “The government’s position is that it is unnecessary to take an overly cautious approach and keep information on Chen’s public appearances secret [until they occur].”
If information is made public in advance, misunderstandings can be averted, Wang said.
Third, Ma asked the public to excuse the inconvenience caused by traffic measures during Chen’s visit, as these were meant to ensure freedom of assembly, Wang said.
Finally, Ma hoped that foreign correspondents would contact government agencies in writing reports to avoid errors resulting from insufficient information.
Ma does not normally chair the media meeting but did so yesterday to keep abreast of agencies’ handling of the protests against Chen’s visit. Yesterday was the second time Ma has chaired the meeting. The last time was in November last year ahead of Chen’s first visit.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起), National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Der-sheng (蔡得勝), Vice Minister of the Interior Lin Join-sane (林中森) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) also attended yesterday’s meeting.
An itinerary unveiled later yesterday showed the Chinese delegation would attend a banquet hosted by Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) tomorrow, followed by a tour of a science park in Taichung. Chen and his wife will also visit the Sanyi Woodcarving Museum. Chen will also visit the Zhenlan Temple in Dajia (大甲).
On Thursday, Chen and Chiang will visit the Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale, another temple. Chen will tour Sun Moon Lake before dining with Nantou County Commissioner Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿).
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