Setting political preconditions for exchanges and cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait is not conducive to the normal and healthy development of cross-strait relations, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Saturday.
Commenting as a fair opened in Beijing to promote tourism and agricultural products from eight Taiwanese cities and counties governed by independent or Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-led administrations, the council said that the central government has always supported local governments and enterprises that conduct activities in China to promote their respective products and tourism.
“It is not appropriate either to set political preconditions or offer preferential treatment to different parties for cross-strait exchanges and cooperation,” the council said in a statement, adding that market mechanisms should be adhered to, as they benefit the healthy development of enterprises on the two sides of the Strait.
The council also urged Chinese authorities to take a healthy, comprehensive and pluralistic view of exchanges with Taiwan and to hold cross-strait talks through the existing mechanism to improve mutual understanding and protect the interests and rights of people on the two sides.
The event, which is taking place at the Beijing Exhibition Center and is to conclude today, features 176 booths showcasing tea, kaoliang liquor, organic rice, pork meatballs, sausages and other agricultural products from Taiwan.
The eight pan-blue administrative areas — Miaoli, Hsinchu, Nantou, Taitung, Hualien, Lienchiang and Kinmen counties, and New Taipei City — are favored by China because their leaders recognize the so-called “1992 consensus,” which refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
In 2006, former MAC chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted that he made up the term in 2000 before the KMT handed over power to the Democratic Progressive Party.
China has insisted on the “1992 consensus” as the political foundation for exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and has frozen official contacts with Taiwan in retaliation for President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) refusal to endorse the “1992 consensus.”
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard