Amid controversy surrounding former premier Liu Chao-shiuan’s (劉兆玄) planned visit to China, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) chairman Wang Chih-kang (王志剛) yesterday said the directive for the trip “came from above.”
Wang said he received a call from Liu a few days ago telling him that Liu had been appointed to preside over the lighting ceremony at the Taiwan Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai next month.
Pressed by media on whether “higher up” meant President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Wang declined to comment, but said Liu would be the ideal person to take part in the ceremony.
“The ceremony should be presided over by someone who has served a high position in government,” Wang said.
“Liu is an ideal person because he has previously served as premier and is now the chairman of the National Cultural Association,” said Wang, whose semi-governmental council is charged with constructing and operating the Taiwan Pavilion.
Retired senior officials and government personnel who had a security clearance intending to visit China are required to file an application with the National Immigration Agency and consult with the government agency that employed him or her before clearance can be given.
Liu on Tuesday applied to go to Shanghai on May 11 to attend the ceremony at the Taiwan Pavilion.
He withdrew a previous application, filed on March 26, in which he said at the time that he planned to attend a festival on Chinese characters co-hosted by Taiwan and China.
Liu’s trip to China has given rise to security concerns, as he stepped down from his position as premier just seven months ago.
Late last month, former National Security Council secretary-general Su Chi (蘇起), another key figure in the Ma administration, also sparked concerns with plans to visit China.
Su’s plan to attend the Boao Forum in Hainan Province from tomorrow through Monday attracted criticism. He later dropped his application, claiming that he would not be able to interact with delegates and instead chose to attend a conference in the US organized by Harvard University.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday said Liu’s application would be approved by the government in accordance with the law as the purpose of his visit was for cultural exchanges, which “are not sensitive matters.”
Noting his position as head of the National Cultural Association, an institution funded by the government, Liu yesterday told media “it would be very appropriate for me to attend the light-up ceremony to bless the Taiwan Pavilion, which will be very good advertising for Taiwan.”
Asked if it was Ma who wanted him to attend the Shanghai Expo, Liu said he was invited by TAITRA.
Liu declined to elaborate, saying he would not engage in any political activities while in China.
The Presidential Office yesterday denied any political implications behind the visit.
Presidential Office Spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said the trip will be for cultural purposes. Ma knew about Liu’s plan, but did not instruct him to participate in any political events, Lo said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀), a member of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, downplayed the sensitivity of Liu’s planned visit to Shanghai. “The World Expo in Shanghai is very different from the Boao Forum. The Shanghai Expo is an international [event]. [Liu’s visit] would help increase Taiwan’s visibility in the exhibition,” Chang said.
Chang added Liu’s China visit would also be significant as direct flights between Taipei’s Songshan and Shanghai’s Hongqiao airports would be launched in October.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) disagreed however, panning Liu’s planned visit “unnecessary and inappropriate.”
DPP Spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told a press conference yesterday that government agencies have not adequately explained the purpose behind Liu’s trip and suspected it of having ulterior motives.
“The DPP is not against the government having normal relations with China … but [they] have been masking officials sent to negotiate with China with all sorts of identities,” Tsai said. “[As a result] the negotiations [are] outside the control of the public and legislature.”
He said the Ma administration should reconsider letting such a highly ranked former official permission to go to China, given the sensitive nature of his previous post and national security issues.
The criticism was echoed by DPP lawmakers who said that given the amount of public disapproval over a previous proposed visit to China by Su, Liu should have “known better” than to announce another Chinese trip two weeks later.
“Two weeks ago it was Su who wanted to go to China, now it’s Liu, who knows what will happen in another two weeks, maybe President Ma will say he too wants to go to China,” DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
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