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
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS