The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations.
The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.”
“We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture, and that we come from the same veins and are charged with the same mission,” Tsai Wang-ting said.
Photo: Taipei Times
“We are grateful for various support available in the motherland and would always remember our responsibility and mission as Chinese, which is to pass down Chinese culture to the next generation,” he said.
The council yesterday said the media group assisted the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in hosting the summit to protect its business in China.
“The group further echoed the CCP’s agenda in the summit, which severely damaged our national interests and sovereignty,” the council said.
It has been CCP’s tactic to use cross-strait exchange events as a cover for its intention to carry out its “united front” campaign against Taiwan, the council added.
“Prior to the summit, we had reminded the public that the event would use media and cultural exchange as a pretext, but in reality it is meant to bring Taiwanese working in the media and cultural industry to Beijing, and lecture them about things they should and should not do. This is not a purely cultural and exchange event, and participation is not encouraged,” the council said.
However, the media group persisted in its pursuit of self-interest in China, disregarding reactions from Taiwan and making statements that harmed national sovereignty, it said.
“It has willingly become a pawn in China’s united front strategies against Taiwan. We severely condemn such a move,” it said, adding it would examine if the media group had colluded with the Chinese government and military, and contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例).
Following the council’s statement, the China Times in an online statement said: “According to the Constitution and the Act Governing Relations Between People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, Taiwan and the Mainland both belong to one China. Taiwanese people are Chinese people, children of Zhonghua (中華). This has always been our position. We urge everyone to uphold and defend the Constitution and work together for cross-strait peace and Taiwan’s future.”
Prior to the summit, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧) met in Beijing with Tsai Eng-meng and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), among others.
In the meeting, Wang said there was a need to “jointly uphold the one China principle and the 1992 consensus, firmly oppose Taiwan independence and separatist activities, and remain unwavering in advancing the great cause of national reunification.”
The “1992 consensus” — a term that former MAC chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the CCP that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
CHAMPIONS: President Lai congratulated the players’ outstanding performance, cheering them for marking a new milestone in the nation’s baseball history Taiwan on Sunday won their first Little League Baseball World Series (LLBWS) title in 29 years, as Taipei’s Dong Yuan Elementary School defeated a team from Las Vegas 7-0 in the championship game in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It was Taiwan’s first championship in the annual tournament since 1996, ending a nearly three-decade drought. “It has been a very long time ... and we finally made it,” Taiwan manager Lai Min-nan (賴敏男) said after the game. Lai said he last managed a Dong Yuan team in at the South Williamsport in 2015, when they were eliminated after four games. “There is
Democratic nations should refrain from attending China’s upcoming large-scale military parade, which Beijing could use to sow discord among democracies, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Shen You-chung (沈有忠) said. China is scheduled to stage the parade on Wednesday next week to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. The event is expected to mobilize tens of thousands of participants and prominently showcase China’s military hardware. Speaking at a symposium in Taichung on Thursday, Shen said that Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) recently met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to New Delhi.
FINANCES: The KMT plan to halt pension cuts could bankrupt the pension fund years earlier, undermining intergenerational fairness, a Ministry of Civil Service report said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ proposal to amend the law to halt pension cuts for civil servants, teachers and military personnel could accelerate the depletion of the Public Service Pension Fund by four to five years, a Ministry of Civil Service report said. Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) on Aug. 14 said that the Act Governing Civil Servants’ Retirement, Discharge and Pensions (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) should be amended, adding that changes could begin as soon as after Saturday’s recall and referendum. In a written report to the Legislative Yuan, the ministry said that the fund already faces a severe imbalance between revenue