China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) yesterday said a visit by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Department of Chinese Affairs Director Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) to China is not an exchange between the DPP and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Chao is visiting China with a delegation led by Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Lin Join-sane (林中森).
Chao is the first head of the department to visit China since the acceptance of the so-called “1992 consensus,” which centers on the “one China” principle, was set as a precondition for cross-strait exchanges after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in May 2008.
TAO spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) told a regular news conference in Beijing yesterday that Chao’s visit had nothing to do with any exchanges between the DPP and the CCP because he is visiting in the capacity of a board member of the foundation.
“We will not embark upon party-to-party exchanges with the DPP unless the DPP relinquishes its separatist stance of promoting ‘one country on each side of the strait’ and ‘Taiwanese independence,’” Ma Xiaoguang was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
The foundation’s visit is part of routine exchanges and negotiations between it and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) that resumed after June 2008 on the basis of the “1992 consensus,” the spokesman said.
According to the foundation, the delegation will meet with ARATS Chairman Chen Deming (陳德銘) tomorrow in Xian to exchange views regarding policies and measures taken by China to protect Taiwanese investors.
In a press release, Lin denied that issues related to Taiwan’s intent to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank would be discussed with Chen, contradicting a statement made by Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) on Thursday last week in the legislature that the subject was on the agenda.
Lin said that the Mainland Affairs Council has not authorized the foundation to speak with ARATS on issues related to the bank.
The 13-member delegation, which includes Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Bill Cho (卓士昭), arrived in Zhengzhou on Tuesday, where they visited the Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone, as well as some Taiwanese-invested businesses in Henan Province, the foundation said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS