If Beijing does not order the release of human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲), “problems will arise” when the Chinese delegation arrives in Taipei for the Summer Universiade in August, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said.
China’s handling of the Lee incident is “strange” and “runs counter to global norms,” Ko said in an interview published yesterday by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper).
Ko said he had no preconceived notions about Lee’s arrest almost three weeks ago, but Beijing should have disclosed on what grounds it detained him and allowed his family to visit on the second or third day of his detention.
Photo: CNA
“This is the way of civilized nations,” he said, adding that he was concerned about China, as a superpower, demonstrating behavior that is at odds with the civilized world.
China’s handling of the Lee case provided insight into why, despite all the benefits that China’s Taiwan Affairs Office has offered Taiwanese businesspeople in China, there is still a general antipathy toward China among Taiwanese, Ko said.
“It is very simple. The Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜) incident probably scared off half of Taiwanese, while the Lee Ming-che incident scared off the other half,” Ko said, refering to a seemingly forced apology by the Taiwanese K-pop idol after she displayed a Republic of China flag on a South Korean TV show last year.
“Maybe they do not find it unusual, but to Taiwanese it was beyond shock and awe,” Ko said, adding that the two incidents showed a fundamental difference between Taiwanese and Chinese beliefs, which is an issue Beijing should be mindful of.
As China plans to send a delegation of at least 700 to Taipei to compete in the Summer Universiade, problems will arise if Beijing does not handle the Lee incident with caution, Ko said.
Ko said that although Taipei’s extensive experience with dealing with protesters is enough to guarantee the safety of Chinese delegates, he cannot control public sentiments toward the delegation.
“Who do you think spectators will root for if China and US went head-to-head in a match?” he asked.
Taiwanese attitudes toward the Chinese delegation would have a profound political effect on Beijing and the world through live broadcast of the Games, he said.
Asked what messages he would convey to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) if he meets Xi’s aides on his trip to China for the Taipei-Shanghai Forum in June, Ko said that it is unclear whether he would meet with them.
If he has a chance to meet with Beijing officials, he would urge China to respect “universal values and global norms” in addition to promoting exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, so that disagreements can be resolved by an increase in goodwill, Ko said.
MAKING A MOVE: Starting on Monday, short-term business travelers can apply for shorter quarantine periods, while transits of up to eight hours would be allowed The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced an easing of restrictions that would from Monday next week allow foreigners to visit or make a transit flight in Taiwan. A policy allowing short-term business travelers from countries with low or medium risks of COVID-19 infections to apply for shorter quarantine periods is also to resume that day. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that while the autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program is to be extended after the end of this month, special conditions for foreign nationals to enter Taiwan would be restored from Monday. Foreign nationals
‘UNFRIENDLY’: COA Minister Chen Chi-chung said that Beijing probably imposed the sanction because the pineapple production season is about to start in Taiwan More than 99 percent of pineapples sold to China passed inspections, the government said yesterday, after China earlier in the day abruptly suspended imports of pineapples from the nation, which Taipei called an “unfriendly” move. From Monday, China is to stop importing pineapples from Taiwan, the Chinese General Administration of Customs said. The regulation is a normal measure for ensuring biosafety, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said in a news release later yesterday. Since last year, Chinese customs officials have repeatedly seized pineapples imported from Taiwan that carried “perilous organisms,” Ma said. Were the organisms to spread in China, they would
Taiwanese netizens and politicians yesterday mocked a Chinese plan to build a transportation network linking Beijing and Taipei, calling it “science fiction” and “daydreaming.” Their comments were in reaction to the Chinese State Council’s release last week of its “Guidelines on the National Comprehensive Transportation Network Plan,” which include several proposed transportation links, with one map showing a line running from China’s Jingjinji Metropolitan Region (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei) across the Taiwan Strait to Taipei. “This is the Chinese leadership daydreaming again of [fulfilling its] fantasy of extending China’s transportation network to Taiwan. I suggest people regard it as science fiction,” Democratic Progressive
‘ONE PERSON PER UNIT’: People undergoing home isolation cannot stay in a housing unit in which non-isolated people live, unless they have special approval Starting tomorrow, people under home isolation would be required to follow the “one person per housing unit” rule if in private housing, or stay at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the rules require people under home quarantine to be quarantined with one person per housing unit, or at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility. “Starting on March 1, individuals under home isolation will also be subject to the ‘one person per housing unit’ rule,” he said. “We