President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has expressed a wish that China scale back visits from high-level officials to Taiwan “during a certain period of time.”
During a meeting with pan-blue Taipei City councilors at the Presidential Office on Thursday, Ma did not mention how long the “certain period of time” would be, but some city councilors who were at the meeting interpreted it to mean that visits from large groups of high-level Chinese officials would probably not be seen until after next year’s presidential and legislative elections in January.
According to those present at the Thursday gathering, Ma said media portrayal of local government officials competing to extend invitations to high-level Chinese officials, such as provincial governors and secretaries, had left a bad impression on the general public.
Ma was quoted by those at the meeting as saying that he had conveyed his message through proper channels that China should cut down visits from high-level officials.
Presidential Office spokesman Fang Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) later confirmed that Ma had conveyed his wish to China through the Mainland Affairs Council in order to reduce the effects of outside factors on the campaign season in Taiwan.
Some city councilors said they were surprised at Ma’s “rare expression of putting the brakes” on cross-strait exchanges.
Ma’s remarks also provoked criticism across party lines.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tsao Erh-chung (曹爾忠) said that cross-strait issues should be handled normally, without ulterior considerations during elections.
Saying that Taiwan welcomed officials coming to Taiwan to shop around, KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) suggested that what Ma was worried about was the attitude of some visiting Chinese officials, who had been arrogant and acted as though they were on a charity tour.
It is also a reminder that KMT local representatives should act in a more refined manner to avoid giving anyone the chance to manipulate politics, Lai added.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), on the other hand, said that Ma’s comments were a clumsy denial that had only exposed his motive. He said Ma was secretly hoping that China would help his election campaign efforts, but was also worried that Chinese help would backfire on him.
Tsai questioned the Ma administration’s claims that Chinese tour groups would bring economic benefits to Taiwan by buying agricultural produce.
“If it were so, why was the Ma administration afraid that the working class might not accept his policy?” he asked.
DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said there were rumors that China had asked each of its provinces to “adopt” a county or city in Taiwan, which was why provinces and towns in China had formed tourist groups to visit Taiwan.
Huang added that the big promotions about the benefits of Chinese tourism had not lived up to expectations, adding that instead of helping Ma’s campaign efforts, they had only deducted points from his administration’s image.
TRANSLATED BY JAKE CHUNG, STAFF WRITER
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY TSENG WEI-CHEN
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
RESILIENCE: Deepening bilateral cooperation would extend the peace sustained over the 45 years since the Taiwan Relations Act, Greene said Taiwan-US relations are built on deep economic ties and shared values, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday, adding that strengthening supply chain security in critical industries, enhancing societal resilience through cooperation and deepening partnerships are key to ensuring peace and stability for Taiwan in the years ahead. Greene made the remarks at the National Security Youth Forum, organized by National Taiwan University’s National Security and Strategy Studies Institution in Taipei. In his address in Mandarin Chinese, Greene said the Taiwan-US relationship is built on deep economic ties and shared interests, and grows stronger through the enduring friendship between
CAUTION URGED: Xiaohongshu and Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — are tools the Chinese government uses for its ‘united front’ propaganda, the MAC said Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) yesterday urged people who use Chinese social media platforms to be cautious of being influenced by Beijing’s “united front” propaganda and undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty. Chiu made the remarks in response to queries about Chinese academic Zhang Weiwei (張維為) saying that as young Taiwanese are fond of interacting on Chinese app Xiaohongshu (小紅書, known as RedNote in English), “after unification with China, it would be easier to govern Taiwan than Hong Kong.” Zhang is professor of international relations at Shanghai’s Fudan University and director of its China Institute. When giving a speech at China’s Wuhan
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
RSS