The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) called on Beijing yesterday to refrain from pressuring Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China and to stop using them as political tools for its own purposes.
MAC Vice Chairman You Ying-lung (游盈隆) was responding to a joint statement, issued a day earlier by the heads of nine Taiwanese business associations in Zhejiang Province, urging Taiwan to forego referendum proposals on its bid to join the UN.
You said that when China enacted its "Anti-Secession" law targeting Taiwan in March 2005, it had mobilized Taiwanese businesspeople who were known to be hardcore supporters of the pro-unification pan-blue camp to sign up to support the law.
"China has done it again," You said.
It is believed that a "deep blue" head of the Taiwanese business association initiated the statement, with the endorsement of the Zhejiang provincial government.
You said that "such an endeavor is inappropriate," adding that the heads of Taiwanese business associations "have to bow and sign up under pressure," which he said "runs counter to their free will" and is "regrettable."
You said the MAC would try to determine whether this was an isolated incident or if it had taken place in other provinces across China before deciding how respond. The MAC later issued a press release to address the statement issued by the Taiwanese business leaders. The MAC urged China to stop squeezing Taiwan businesspeople operating there and to carry out its promise to protect the rights of Taiwanese businesspeople.
The MAC said that although Beijing had spoken of peace and development in its recently concluded party congress, it has again used such approaches as political division and economic incentives to pressure Taiwanese businesspeople to support Beijing's stance.
The MAC said that since Taiwan began to promote its bid to join the UN under the name "Taiwan," Beijing had conveyed its political stance through various economic activities and had now blatantly pressured Taiwan businesspeople to side with China.
China should learn more about the mainstream view of Taiwanese society and the fact that China and Taiwan are independent of each other. It should not equate Taiwan's UN bid with seeking "de jure Taiwan independence," which China could use as a pretext to launch a military attack, the press release said.
The statement by the Taiwanese business leaders was only the latest incident in the cross-strait row over Taiwan's UN bid.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS