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Chen Chu counters criticism over trip

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said yesterday she had done her duty in promoting the World Games during a trip to China.

Chen told reporters at Kaohsiung City Council that the purpose of her trip was to promote the event and the interests of the residents of Kaohsiung and the people of Taiwan.

“The easiest choice for me would have been to drop the trip, but we need to enhance our visibility if Taiwan wants to to survive in this world and if we want to promote the World Games,” she said.

“As [mayor] of the host city, I’ve fulfilled my duty to welcome the states participating in the Games,” she said.

Chen said she would work to ensure the safety of all athletes at the Games and would respect all opinions as long as they are expressed peacefully, adding that she would not tolerate any violence.

Chen, who left for Beijing on Thursday, returned on Sunday night to cheers from her supporters and protests from a number of pro-independence groups unhappy with her trip.

The Taiwan Southern Society, the Taiwan Society Hakka and a number of pro-independence groups that had urged Chen to scrap the trip said they would boycott her re-election bid next year.

A member of “the 908 Taiwan Nation Movement” sitting in seats reserved for the public at the city council yesterday held up two posters criticizing Chen for not stating that Taiwan and China are two different countries while on her trip.

While meeting Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong (郭金龍) last week, Chen mentioned “President Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] of the central government,” winning praise from politicians across party lines in Taiwan.

Asked yesterday about the resulting criticism from some civic groups, Chen said she respected their opinions because Taiwan is a democracy.

However, she added, “I’m also an independence activist. I was imprisoned for my pro-­independence beliefs,” she said.

She declined to comment on whether she thought that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should adjust any of its China policies or that DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should visit China.

Independent Kaohsiung City Councilor Hsu Kun-yuan (許崑源) praised Chen at yesterday’s council session and urged her to be “brave” in the face of criticism.

Meanwhile, Chen called on Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川), who ­yesterday said Chen’s trip to China was a “betrayal” of Taiwan, to retract his comment.

“[Yeh’s attendance at] the Wolrd Health Assembly and my [trip to China] are completely different. He should shoulder responsibility for what happened there. I hope he will take back his criticism of me,” Chen said on the sidelines of the session.

Meanwhile, Tsai said the DPP’s engagement with China would focus on universal values such as human rights and democracy and not on political and economic interests.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
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