The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday blasted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office for “lacking wisdom” in its response to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) expressions of sympathy for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
“We would hope the mainland side has the wisdom to deal with President Ma’s [Double Ten National Day] speech in a rational manner, but as of present they have evidently not done so,” MAC spokeswoman Wu Mei-hung (吳美紅) said.
She said that Ma’s remarks were made out of goodwill, as “people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait share the same Chinese ancestry.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Democracy and the rule of law “can close the psychological gap” between Taiwanese and Chinese and is deeply meaningful to the long-term development of cross-strait relations, she said.
Wu’s comments came a day after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Fan Liqing (范麗青) said the direct election of Hong Kong’s chief executive in 2017 represents a “big stride” for the semi-autonomous region’s political system.
Fan implicitly framed Ma’s call for democracy as irresponsible and frivolous.
In his address, Ma expressed “strong support” for Hong Kongers who have been protesting for a greater say in the election of their chief executive.
“The democratic development of mainland China and Hong Kong will be determined by the wisdom and character that the mainland Chinese leaders show in their attitude toward reform,” he said.
Meanwhile, Wu on Thursday said that the MAC has yet to begin talks with China about a possible meeting between MAC Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) during November’s APEC summit in Beijing.
“I believe we will begin our contact [on this issue] with the mainland side soon,” she said.
In related news, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) spokesperson Charles Chen (陳以信) on Thursday urged China to appreciate the goodwill of Taiwan evidenced by Ma touching on Hong Kong during his National Day address.
Chen reiterated that democracy is the core value of Taiwanese society and that the KMT is greatly concerned about and supports the appeals for Hong Kong democracy with peace and reason.
Chen said Ma’s remarks were his suggestion in view of global democratic trends and that the president is convinced that China is capable of implementing democracy.
Ma’s remarks were by no means irresponsible and China should welcome Taiwan’s goodwill, he added.
Chen said the KMT hopes that Chinese authorities can understand the protesters’ deep aspiration toward free elections and would allow “some people to become democratic first.”
“[This] would definitely be a win-win scenario for both the mainland and Hong Kong, and would be strongly welcomed by the people of Taiwan,” he said.
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