The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it welcomes local-level interaction across the Taiwan Strait, pledging to facilitate exchanges of views between the council and local government heads to promote amicable ties.
In a press release yesterday, the council said that improving interactions with local governments to forge consensuses has been a significant part of its effort to promote relations across the Taiwan Strait.
“In a bid to gain a better understanding of local governments’ views regarding cross-strait ties, MAC Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) and officials have visited the leaders of local governments, including Tainan and Taoyuan cities, as well as Nantou, Hualien and Hsinchu counties, since July,” the council said.
The purpose of the visits was to exchange opinions with local heads on the issue of cross-strait interactions and explain the central government’s policies, the council said, adding that more such visits would be conducted.
The council made the remarks amid speculation that recent visits by high-level council officials were meant to target the eight pan-blue local government heads who went to Beijing last month offering their acceptance of the so-called “1992 consensus” in exchange for preferential tourism treatment by China.
The delegation, consisting of six Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and two independent local government heads, met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Yu Zhengsheng (俞正聲) and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) during the visit to discuss tourism and trade-related issues.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former MAC chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted that he made up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and Beijing that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) refusal to recognize the “1992 consensus” has been met with several punitive measures from Beijing, including the suspension of official cross-strait communications and a reduction in the number of Chinese tourists allowed to visit Taiwan.
Stressing that the government has a positive attitude toward cross-strait interactions at the local government level, the council said it values suggestions made by local governments and that it has paid attention to the problems they face promoting cross-strait exchanges.
“Based on the existing foundation, we intend to bolster interactions and cooperation with various local governments, while joining hands with them to facilitate stable and peaceful development of cross-strait relations and improving the welfare of the people,” the council 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
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
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
The New Taipei City Art Museum this weekend plans to celebrate its first anniversary with a two-day extravaganza featuring live concerts and a large-scale synchronized fireworks and drone display, the New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Department said. The two-day celebrations are to take place in the museum’s outdoor park, with markets and live performances by singers including Ann Bai (白安), Bii (畢書盡) and the Cosmos People (宇宙人), the department said. The highlight on both evenings would be the "Echoes of Light" show, an aerial spectacle combining fireworks and drone performances designed around the concept of "dual stages in the sky," it
RSS