Former National Security Council (NSC) secretary-general Su Chi (蘇起) yesterday said he would not attend the Boao Forum in China as initially planned and would instead participate at a conference in the US.
Su’s announcement last week that he would attend the forum scheduled from April 9 through April 11 in Hainan Province sparked controversy among governing and opposition lawmakers, who questioned the appropriateness of Su participating in the forum.
Given that Su had recently resigned from his position at the NSC, critics said the visit should come under public scrutiny because of the national security concerns arising from his previous functions.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) at the time also said it feared that the specific reason behind Su’s China visit was to launch negotiations on cross-strait military exchanges.
Su said he would instead travel to the US and take part in a conference that will be hosted by Harvard University on Monday.
Su said he abandoned his intention to attend the Boao Forum because he could not make public remarks at the setting, which would have made him a mere observer.
The conference in the US, on the other hand, would allow for greater participation and he will be able to discuss various issues with academics, he said.
From Taipei, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will also address the conference via video link, for about one hour, Su said.
The conference will look at cross-strait relations, Taiwan-US relations and a proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) the Ma administration seeks to sign with Beijing, Su said.
The DPP yesterday welcomed news that Su would not attend the forum, adding it would have been “inappropriate” for him to do so.
Members of the DPP caucus in the legislature also said that Su’s rapid turnaround was a clear case of Ma “correcting” a potential public relations catastrophe.
“We all know the president was the ultimate decision-maker behind this fiasco. The backlash against Su’s visit further highlights Ma’s failure to gauge public opinion,” DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) said.
“Rather than backtrack and own up to his mistakes in planning the visit, Su used his trip to Harvard as an excuse,” he said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VINCENT Y. CHAO
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