Some Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers have expressed concern that former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) planned visit to Malaysia this month to speak at a university might serve to promote China’s regional aims and be perceived as an endorsement of Beijing’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative.
Ma, who completed his second and final term as president in May, on Oct. 11 said that he accepted an invitation to attend the eighth World Chinese Economic Summit in Malaysia from Wednesday next week through Friday next week.
The Presidential Office on Oct. 21 announced that it has approved Ma’s request to visit Malaysia.
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said that given Malaysia’s significant Chinese population and its history of anti-Chinese discrimination, the nation has developed a Chinese-language curriculum that is unique outside of Taiwan and China, and both nations see the potential benefits of bilateral exchange.
Chinese Malaysians easily adapt to Taiwan’s education system and comprise the majority of ethnically Chinese foreign students in Taiwan, Chen said.
Chen said Taiwan and Malaysia have always had a close relationship, adding that China has entered the picture in recent years as it has begun investing in Chinese-language schools in Malaysia as part of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative.
China has been inviting Chinese-speaking instructors from Malaysia to study in China, Chen said, adding that Xiamen University has established a satellite campus in Malaysia.
Higher education is a battlefield that China has thrown itself into completely, Chen said, adding that Southern University College where Ma is to give the speech is the beachhead of China’s East China Normal University’s push into Malaysia.
The summit’s Web site clearly states that its purpose is to promote trade relations between China and Southeast Asian and European nations with the aim of facilitating China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Chen said.
Chen asked if Ma speaking at a politically sensitive conference would serve as a challenge to President Tsai’s (蔡英文) “new southbound policy.”
There are several outstanding universities in Malaysia, such as the University of Malaya, the University of Technology and the University of Science, Chen said.
“If Ma really wants to discuss Taiwan’s experience, why not do it at a school with a more international outlook where he can further Taiwan-Malaysia relations?” Chen asked.
If the summit is really shrouded in an atmosphere of Chinese political policy, then Ma should think carefully before participating, Chen said.
DPP Legislator Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) said that regardless of whether relations with Malaysia were largely cultural and educational in nature, Taiwan must comprehensively promote the aims of the “new southbound policy.”
Malaysia will be important for Taiwan, Su said, adding that former Taiwanese leaders did relatively little to further the relationship between Taiwan and Malaysia when compared with China’s full engagement with that nation.
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