The government is preparing a raft of measures to ensure that Chinese officials visiting Taiwan must meet with both pan-blue and pan-green local governments, sources said.
The Mainland Affairs Council is committed to preventing Chinese officials visiting the nation for political rather than economic purposes, and it will not tolerate groups visiting only pan-blue local governments, sources said, adding that “strong measures” to be taken include denying visitor permits.
In September, the heads of eight pan-blue or independent local governments visited China to discuss tourism and agriculture. In October, a Chinese delegation visited the eight local governments, but canceled scheduled visits to cities and counties run by the Democratic Progressive Party.
The local governments are scheduled to send delegates to an agricultural trade show in Beijing later this month.
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) on Sunday said that the central government recognized that county and city-level leaders have legitimate reasons for attending events relevant to tourism and trade issues, and their requests to send delegates have been granted.
However, local government leaders are reminded that any dealings their representatives have with Chinese officials must uphold the nation’s dignity; they are not authorized to sign any political or cooperative agreements; and the council expects each local government to give a full report of the proceedings within a month of their delegates’ return, he said.
The government supports cross-strait exchanges that facilitate the development of industry, tourism and agriculture, but Beijing must refrain from “inappropriately divisive” political acts, Chiu said.
Since President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) inauguration in May, China has suspended official cross-strait communications and reduced the number of Chinese tourists allowed to visit Taiwan in an apparent bid to pressure the administration to recognize the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted that he made up in 2000 — refers to a supposed understanding reached during cross-strait talks in 1992 that both Taiwan and China acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
An official said the government views the private sector’s cross-strait exchanges and the maintenance of friendly relations with China as important, and regulations on Chinese spouses, students and tourists are to be relaxed.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications has proposed increasing the number of independent Chinese travelers from 5,000 to 6,000 per day and the maximum allowable length of stay from 15 to 30 days.
However, the Mainland Affairs Council blocked the latter proposal on grounds it could be exploited by Chinese who want to work in Taiwan illegally, sources said.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
RSS