The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has made a deliberate effort to stir up resentment over reports that at least 80 universities signed letters capitulating to Beijing’s “one China” policy, in a bid to increase tensions across the Taiwan Strait and distract the public from its poor governance, a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) think tank said yesterday.
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) disclosed a letter signed by National Tsing Hua University that promised prospective Chinese students there would be no mention of “one China, one Taiwan” in course materials.
Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) has launched an investigation into universities that signed similar agreements, and the faculty members who were responsible for the acquiescence, National Policy Foundation chief executive officer Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) told a news conference in Taipei.
“We should applaud minister Pan’s audacity. I believe [the investigation] would be a significant boost for his career,” Sun said.
It is “despicable” that the DPP has extended its “green terror” to campuses in an attempt to prevent Chinese students from studying in Taiwan, while first-tier Chinese schools are relaxing regulations for the enrollment of Taiwanese students, he said.
For many years Taiwanese universities have channeled their efforts into promoting mutual understanding and exchanges between young people on both sides of the Strait, which is helpful for maintaining peace, he said, urging the DPP not to intervene in these efforts with its “twisted” political values.
Pan, the DPP’s “hatchet man,” should explain the party’s motives behind its investigation of the schools, Sun said.
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) should examine whether the DPP’s handling of the issue contravened Article 33-3 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), which gives universities the right to enter into non-political alliances with Chinese schools as long they have the Ministry of Education’s permission, he said.
KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) said that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) headed legislative efforts for the act during her time as a consultant for the MAC, which asserts that cross-strait relations must not be affected by transitions of political power.
If Tsai’s administration has faith in the nation’s democracy, it should continue to allow the enrollment of Chinese students, so that they can learn about the nation’s democratic values, he said.
Judging by recent incidents such as the letters controversy, the detention of former Chinese student Zhou Hongxu (周泓旭) on suspicion of espionage and the draft bill on protecting classified information and the prevention of espionage, it is evident that the DPP is tapping the animosity toward China that it has created to magnify tensions and divert the public’s attention from its poor governance, he said.
Tsai implied in her inauguration speech that there would be only “one China” — the Republic of China, Taiwan, as she said that the Constitution and the act would serve as the foundation for cross-strait exchanges, rendering the ministry’s probe into universities that signed letters of commitment unnecessary, said Chiu Kun-shuan (邱坤玄), a former director of the Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies at National Chengchi University.
Chiu urged the DPP not to manipulate anti-Chinese sentiment.
The Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents and the money that Taiwanese businesspeople earn in China are not viewed by the public as “letters of commitment,” he said.
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