Beijing’s guidelines banning Chinese media from using the name “Republic of China (ROC)” — Taiwan’s official title — is “overkill,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said yesterday.
“The ROC’s existence is an established fact... If even the term ‘ROC’ is to be censored, I doubt there is a better way [to refer to the nation],” Lin said in response to media queries for comments.
In a move intended to increase pressure on Taiwan, China’s official Xinhua news agency published a set of guidelines for Chinese media when referring to Taiwanese authorities, including a ban on using the Taiwanese version of the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 — 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.
The list also bans Chinese media from using the term “president/vice president of the ROC,” instead instructing them to use “leader/deputy leader of the Taiwan authorities.”
Chinese media are also forbidden from saying “Taiwan presidential election” and are required to describe such events as “leadership elections in the Taiwan area” or “Taiwan’s general election.”
Even the use of the phrase “Taiwan government” is not allowed, as is any reference to Taiwanese governmental agencies at the “national” or “central government” level, the Xinhua list says.
Banning the terms would make it more difficult for Taiwan and China to arrive at any sort of consensus, Lin said, calling on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to increase the level of goodwill toward each other to meet people’s expectations for cross-strait rapport and security.
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister and spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) on Thursday urged the Chinese media to “fully report reality and respect the fact that the ROC exists.”
“Beijing is suppressing and manipulating freedom of the press and severely restricting the rights of Chinese” by prohibiting the Chinese media from using terms that depict the facts, Chiu said.
By banning so many terms, China is drawing attention to its inability to objectively and practically view the real cross-strait situation, he added.
“Such a policy reflects the Chinese leadership’s intransigent thinking and inclination to create an impasse, which will widen the knowledge gap between Taiwan and China and deter mutual understanding,” Chiu said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS