A slew of trade deals negotiated by Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to sell NT$5.2 billion (US$168.5 million) worth of Taiwanese agricultural products to cities in southern China is under Beijing’s direct control, a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The Chinese-language Sing Pao Daily News reported that the deals were negotiated through Chinese state-owned enterprises, and that they fell under the supervision of China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
A deal negotiated in Hong Kong also falls under Beijing’s control, as it was handled through the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong and Macau, the report said.
Han last week visited Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen and Xiamen to negotiate trade deals.
At a news conference on Tuesday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) praised Han’s trip for making achievements in the areas of trade, education and cultural exchanges, tourism and the establishment of mechanisms for cross-strait interactions.
TAO spokesman An Fengshan (安峰山) said the achievements were the embodiment of the concept that “both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one family.”
“This demonstrates that on the foundation of persisting with the ‘1992 consensus,’ there are vast prospects for cities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” An said, adding that he “welcomes the strengthening of city-to-city exchanges on this foundation.”
However, Sing Pao said that Han’s deal in Hong Kong was facilitated through the Hong Kong Liaison Office and made with a company under the supervision of Beijing using the Fujian Provincial Government as a proxy.
The deal in Shenzhen was made with a firm that is the city government’s sole appointed wholesaler of “grade A” agricultural products, it said, adding it was made under China’s National Development and Reform Commission.
“It is clear that the deals Han Kuo-yu reaped on his trip to China were gifts from the Chinese Communist Party [CCP],” the report said.
The report implied that Beijing intended to raise Han’s stature in Taiwan, thereby securing his victory should he run in next year’s presidential election.
One unnamed analyst said that, while Han’s deals look good on paper, Taiwan’s produce market is already overly reliant on China.
About 97 percent of exported Golden Diamond brand pineapples are sold to China and Beijing can control the fruit’s price, the analyst said.
The so-called “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the CCP that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS