Reporters yesterday criticized the Taichung City Government for not being transparent about Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin’s (陳雲林) itinerary in the city.
Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) arranged for Chen to tour the city yesterday afternoon, but the city government kept his itinerary secret.
Reporters had no prior knowledge of Chen’s plans.
PHOTO: CNA
Half of the reporters who applied to cover the event were taken by shuttle bus to Chen’s first destination, a luxury apartment at an urban planning area in Taichung, while the other half were supposed to be taken to a local temple Chen was to visit later. However, all reporters were transported to a hotel, where Hu invited Chen to view municipal developments from the top of the 46-story building.
“Why can’t you tell us the destinations? We had no idea where we were going and why we were there. Are we still going to the temple?” reporters asked about the itinerary after being transported to the hotel.
When confronted by reporters over the city government’s failure to respond to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) call earlier yesterday for the organizers to make public Chen’s schedule, Taichung Deputy Mayor Hsiao Jia-chi (蕭家旗) said it had “opened the event to the press,” declining to comment on the insistence on keeping Chen’s itinerary secret.
Hu later invited Chen to meet reporters inside the hotel and apologized for the lack of transparency in handling his itinerary, while insisting that keeping his schedule a secret was necessary.
“The guests’ safety is our biggest concern and we have to make such arrangements due to security,” he said.
The city government had arranged for Chen to visit Wanhe Temple (萬和宮), a municipal monument, but later told reporters that the trip was canceled because of time constraints.
However, reporters speculated that the government canceled the trip after learning that protesters could gather around the temple.
In spite of the city government’s efforts, some protesters managed to voice their anger at Chen and the Chinese delegation at the two spots. A man wearing a mask shouted “Taiwan, China, one nation on each side” when Chen’s motorcade arrived at the luxury apartment, while some protesters played anti-communist songs outside the hotel during his short visit.
Asked about the continuous protests against him, Chen said he respected different voices and added that the protesting crowd was more rational compared with the violent protests during his visit last year.
“As to people who are against me or have doubts about me, I absolutely respect their right to express their opinions,” he said.
Chen lauded Taichung City for its rapid development and beautiful weather and said he was willing to serve as a “salesman” to promote the city to the world.
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