Former National Security Council secretary-general King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) yesterday attributed China’s rejection of a proposed meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last year to Ma’s insistence on holding the meeting at the APEC summit in Beijing.
Ma’s insistence that the APEC summit would be the best venue for a meeting with his Chinese counterpart reflected how APEC’s membership is not predicated on the notion of sovereign nation states, but economic identities, King said in a radio interview, apparently suggesting that the meeting would therefore circumvent issues of sovereignty and equal status.
China rejected Ma’s proposal because Beijing was dissatisfied with his offer to meet with Xi at an international forum, King said.
Asked whether the rejection was related to the resignation of former Mainland Affairs Council deputy minister Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) over charges of leaking confidential information to China, King said that while cross-strait relations appeared to be facing a bottleneck, it was absolutely unrelated to Chang’s case.
Ma’s achievements in improving cross-strait ties have gained wide recognition with US think tank members, academics and officials, who have praised his performance in this regard, King said.
Despite his being labeled “pro-China” and accused of “selling out Taiwan,” Ma’s stance on a meeting with Xi never changed, King added.
Asked if there are any other windows of opportunity for a Ma-Xi meeting, King said that the president would only propose such an encounter when the advantages of doing so outweigh the disadvantages and it would be beneficial to the nation and cross-strait relations.
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