Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a six-day visit, sparking a series of small protests at a number of venues.
Small groups of protesters targeted venues at which Chen made appearances, but failed to match the scale or intensity seen during his three previous visits to the country.
However, the rallies are expected to intensify today as Chen makes his first foray into parts of southern Taiwan.
Photo: Sam Yeh/AFP
This is Chen’s first visit to Taiwan mainly for sightseeing. It is also the first time his wife, who is facing allegations that she had taken advantage of her husband’s position to embezzle US$300 million, did not accompany him to Taiwan.
Chen, who is leading a delegation of about 20 Chinese companies, said the purpose of his trip is to seek development opportunities for both sides and establish a platform for businesses to exchange opinions and share experiences.
“It is the only and correct way for peaceful development between the two sides,” he said. “Such exchanges have come too late. However, it is not our fault, but a historic mistake made in the past that must be corrected.”
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Chen also expressed hope that Taiwan would ease regulations on Chinese investment, saying the more and the earlier, the better.
Groups of protesters led by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) city councilors and several pro-independence organizations have vowed to tail Chen around the clock to oppose growing cross-strait ties that they say have come at the expense of Taiwanese sovereignty.
DPP politicians joined by less than a dozen protesters and Falun Gong supporters confronted Chen as he walked into Grand Hyatt Hotel in Taipei in the afternoon.
The Chinese envoy did not respond to attempts by Jack Chen (陳嘉爵), the manager of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) office, to offer him jasmine flowers and jasmine tea, a reference to a fledgling protest movement in China.
Jack Chen and other protesters, including DPP Taipei City Councilor Tung Chung-yen (童仲彥), were stopped outside the hotel by uniformed police, part of the dozens deployed for the visit. However, there were noticeably fewer police than before.
Protest groups said they expected hundreds to take to the streets in Greater Kaohsiung today when Chen Yunlin lunches with local Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians and tours factories and Kaohsiung Harbor.
“President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is clearly moving toward unification, which is opposed by 80 percent of the people. We must do what we can do to oppose this situation ... and fight for Taiwan,” said Chen Che (陳哲), one of the protesters.
Carrying large banners that read “Unification is a [dead] end” and “Refuse Chinese rule,” retired civil servant Wu Ji-sheng (吳日昇) said Chen Yunlin was “the devil,” intent on discrediting Taiwan’s de facto independence.
“He’s not welcome here. We don’t want representatives of the Chinese Communist Party here in Taiwan,” he said.
Sources have confirmed that protesters will congregate at Kaohsiung Harbor to rally against Chen Yunlin’s first scheduled appearance in Greater Kaohsiung, a day before he moves on to Chiayi City, Chiayi County and then Yunlin.
The protesters are expected to include dozens of members from the Southern Taiwan Society, the Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan and the One Side One Country alliance, spearheaded by Chen Shui-bian’s son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), who was elected Greater Kaohsiung councilor in November.
“We don’t want Chen Yunlin to come here as part of [China’s] unification efforts and show that Taiwan is a part of China,” said Chen Chih-chung, who along with some DPP councilors, have prepared an open letter to give Chen Yunlin.
“Taiwan is an independent, sovereign country,” reads the first sentence of the letter.
Chen Chih-chung and several other Greater Kaohsiung councilors filed a lawsuit against Chen Yunlin hours after his arrival, a Central News Agency report said.
The councilors said Chen Yunlin covered up information about tainted milk products from China that affected the health of Taiwanese consumers in 2008.
They also accused the Chinese envoy of hindering the freedom of 14 Taiwanese deported by Philippine authorities to China for their alleged involvement in an international scam targeting China.
DPP politicians in Chiayi and Yunlin also say they have mobilized dozens of supporters in anticipation of Chen Yunlin’s visit tomorrow and on Saturday in a move that hasn’t received an endorsement from central party headquarters, which has no plans of holding rallies.
As many as 300 police officers are expected to be deployed in and around Chen Yunlin’s hotel today at the Eda World in rural Greater Kaohsiung. TV footage showed dozens of barricades have already been set up in and around the tourist complex, also the venue of the Chinese envoy’s luncheon today.
Also yesterday, Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) -Secretary--General Kao Koong--liang (高孔廉) told reporters after a 90-minute closed-door forum with Chinese and Taiwanese businesspeople that both sides had agreed it would only be to each other’s advantage if more Chinese investments were allowed into Taiwan.
“China has the market and some brand-name products. Taiwan has the manufacturing power, technology and experience of international marketing. If we work together, we can increase our global market share,” Kao said. “We think that one plus one is not equal to two but 11.”
Among the possible cooperation projects is developing wind power on coastal areas, Kao said, adding that by working together, Taipei and Beijing could build the world’s biggest power generation center.
However, Kao said those were merely preliminary talks and that both sides would have to work hard to make the project a reality.
Chinese businesspeople also expressed the hope that Taiwan would relax regulations on Chinese investments, Kao said.
Two of their major concerns are immigration controls and limitations imposed on Chinese investors, he said.
To resolve these problems, Kao said the administration would study the possibility of making it easier for Chinese businesspeople to visit Taiwan before they establish their companies here, including allowing them to stay for two months, which can be extended to four.
Taiwan allowed Chinese investment in June 2009, but to date, has only attracted US$130 million in investments. Chinese businesses have blamed the meager amount on Taiwan’s tight regulations.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
RSS