Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) yesterday left with a delegation for a trip to China, drawing fire for visiting at a time when Beijing has been conducting intensive military drills to pressure Taiwan.
Before boarding, he told reporters that the delegation would be visiting Taiwanese communities and students in China, and possibly meet with Chinese officials.
The Mainland Affairs Council on Tuesday night said that it was not the right time for political party members to visit China, as Beijing has been conducting military exercises since Thursday last week.
Photo: CNA
President Tsai Ing- wen (蔡英文), chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), told a party meeting yesterday that the trip has not only disappointed Taiwanese, but could send a wrong message to the international community.
Hsia yesterday insisted that he was doing the right thing by looking after the needs of Taiwanese in China.
“This trip had already been planned, and we cannot halt it because of the Chinese military exercise going on right now,” he said.
“I know there are objections against this visit, but we have an open society and respect different opinions... Some say this is not the right time, but if I can achieve results, then it is the right time,” he said.
“We will meet with the Taiwanese business community in China, as well as Taiwanese workers and students, who are facing hardships right now. So this is a good time to enhance dialogue and communication with them,” he said.
Delegation members include KMT Mainland Affairs Department head Lin Chu-chia (林祖嘉), deputy head Teng Tai-hsien (鄧岱賢) and Kao Su-po (高思博), director of the party’s main think tank, among others.
“The trip has no political intentions,” with all scheduled stops and activities decided by KMT top officials, a news release said. “The delegation will not visit Beijing, and has no plans to discuss political issues with Chinese government representatives.”
However, according to a KMT insider who spoke to the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times), the delegation originally planned to visit Beijing and meet with Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Liu Jieyi (劉結一) and Zhang Zhijun (張志軍), the top Chinese official in charge of Taiwan relations, but it was scrapped after the itinerary was leaked.
Asked if he would meet with top Chinese officials, Hsia said: “We are guests in China and will follow the activities arranged by our hosts.”
If the hosts want us to meet important Chinese figures, “we will not reject such an arrangement,” he added.
According to the KMT insider, “it was an invitation for the delegation to visit by the Beijing leadership, and the original theme focused on new opportunities across the Taiwan Strait and the KMT’s role in history, but [KMT] officials added to the main agenda how to dilute anti-China sentiment in Taiwan and explain the KMT’s current US-friendly stance.”
Hsia told reporters that “all delegation members have more than 10 years of related experience and we will not succumb to ‘united front’ tactics with just one visit to China.”
The trip has also sparked protests among some KMT councilors and younger party members, who have started a petition called “Stop the Visit, Listen to Public Opinion.”
KMT New Taipei City councilor candidate Lu Chia-kai (呂家愷) slammed the visit as “lacking legitimacy and good reason.”
“Hsia should clearly state his position before departure to mitigate public worries. This exchange could affect the future of our nation, as China is conducting military exercises around Taiwan right now... If war breaks out, it is the youth, the younger generation, who will have to go to battle.”
The petition, launched by KMT Chiayi County Councilor Tsao Chia-hao (曹嘉豪), says: “Taiwan has been facing Chinese military drills for days and the possibility that they could intrude on Republic of China territory. The visit, with its stated aim of helping Taiwanese communities in China, lacks a rationale for people to support the party’s decision.”
Additional reporting by CNA
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region