China should refrain from political overtones when promoting cross-strait cooperation on Pingtan Island because more than 80 percent of Taiwanese reject China’s “one country, two systems” formula, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
The formula governed the return of former British colony Hong Kong to Chinese rule after 1997, in which the territory was allowed to keep its capitalist economy and British common law traditions for 50 years, while Beijing controls all foreign and defense policy.
Stopping short of saying that the government discourages investment in the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone, located on Pingtan Island in China’s Fujian Province, the council reminded Taiwanese that it is not a “co-pilot” project sponsored by the Taiwanese government.
The council issued the statement yesterday ahead of the departure today by a delegation of government officials, to be led by Straits Exchange Foundation Vice Chairman Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉), for a seven-day visit to southeastern China, including a tour of the zone.
Developed by China’s Fujian Provincial Government to become a pilot area for cross-strait cooperation, the Pingtan project is the centerpiece of Beijing’s West-Taiwan Strait Economic Zone plan, which has won the backing of China’s State Council.
Fujian Governor Su Shulin (蘇樹林) said on Wednesday that Pingtan is expected to receive more than 260 billion yuan (US$41 billion) in Chinese government subsidies over the next five years for infrastructure development.
China has put too much of a political overtone into the Pingtan project, which in fact was designed in accordance with its “12th five-year plan” that handles cross-strait relationships under the principle of the “one country, two systems” formula, council spokesman Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said yesterday.
It has been proven by survey results over a long period that Taiwanese oppose the “one country, two systems” formula, he said.
While the Chinese have been promoting Pingtan as a cross-strait “co-pilot” project with five aspects — joint planning, joint development, cooperation, joint management and joint benefits — those were “not the facts,” Liu said.
The development of Pingtan would get better results if China focused on economic aspects and “removed unnecessary political factors,” he added.
Taiwanese-based engineering consultants have participated in the design of the project and some Taiwanese have been recruited, but that did not mean that it is the Taiwanese government’s policy to cooperate with China on the project, Liu said.
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Kao Charng (高長) said that the major difference between the Pingtan project and other special economic areas in China was that China has “made blatant moves” to promote the project and it has “expedient political purposes.”
“It’s fine, [China] can do whatever it likes, but we can’t let it mislead people in Taiwan that it [the project] has the consent of our government,” Kao said.
The council said it was not discouraging people from investing in Pingtan Island.
“We simply want people to have a better understanding about the project and make a thorough risk assessment,” Liu said.
Meanwhile, the Central News Agency yesterday quoted an unnamed Ministry of Economic Affairs official as saying that the Investment Commission would review applications for planned investment in Pingtan by Taiwanese businesses on a case-by-case basis.
The official said the reviews would take into account the potential impact of the investment in Pingtan on Taiwan in terms of economic and non-economic factors. If necessary, the ministry would consult with the relevant government agencies before reaching its final conclusion, the official added.
Additional reporting by staff writer
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
BIG YEAR: The company said it would also release its A12 chip the same year to keep a ‘reliable stream of new silicon technologies’ flowing to its customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said its newest A13 chip is to enter volume production in 2029 as the chipmaker seeks to hold onto its tech leadership and demand for next-generation chips used in artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance-computing (HPC) and mobile applications. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, also unveiled its A12 chip at its annual technology symposium in Santa Clara, California. The A12 chip, which features TSMC’s super-power-rail technology to provide backside power delivery for AI and HPC applications, is also to enter volume production in 2029, a year after the scheduled release of the A14 chip. The technology moves
RSS