President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said it was inappropriate and disrespectful to dub Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), chairman of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), a “C-list” politician.
Ma made the remarks following a report in the Chinese-language China Times yesterday that quoted a Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) official as saying that a situation in which three Taiwanese political heavyweights tried to meet Chen during his visit was like “the A-listers versus the C-listers,” with Chen as the “C-list” politician.
“Such remarks are very impolite and disrespectful to Chen,” Ma said. “Even if it was said in a private setting, it was still very inappropriate.”
Ma said SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) told him that neither he nor other SEF officials had ever made such a comment.
Chen concluded his five-day stay in Taiwan on Friday, during which three deals were signed on Tuesday in the fourth round of cross-strait negotiations.
While staying at Sun Moon Lake, Chen called off a boat cruise after People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) arrived to talk to him.
Soong later expressed discontent over the manner in which the SEF conveyed Ma’s message that it was not a good idea for political parties to host banquets for Chen during his visit.
Soong said that without former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and his “ice-breaking” trips to China in 2005, Chen’s current visit would never have happened.
Ma, who previously expressed regret that Soong was not able to personally host a banquet for Chen, yesterday reiterated that cross-strait affairs were the focus of Chen’s visit and that he did not want it to be obscured by non-business related affairs.
Meanwhile, Chiang expressed regret over the “A-list versus C-list” report at a separate press conference yesterday.
He questioned the authenticity of the story, adding that he would try to clarify the matter with Chen.
Chiang said that Chen had asked to meet Lien, Soong and former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄).
However, to avoid negative publicity similar to November last year — when Wu hosted a dinner for Chen and ended up stranded in a hotel for hours because of protests outside — the SEF this time chose to have local government chiefs host the banquets in Chen’s honor and invited local politicians, Chiang said.
Chiang said he was a good friend of Lien, Wu and Soong, adding: “I’d like to express my sincere apology to the four [Chen, Lien, Wu and Soong]” for any problems that may have been caused.
At a separate setting, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said the phrase was inappropriate, while Soong said the statement would “have a negative impact on cross-strait relations.”
Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) said “there is no such thing as ‘A-list’ or ‘C-list’ in cross-strait exchanges because the people are the most important factor.”
Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) on Friday said that the Chinese Communist Party had effectively driven a wedge into the pan-blue camp.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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