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
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS