The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) cross-strait exchange forum would severely harm national dignity and security, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
The KMT has said that party Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is sending a delegation to represent it at the Cross-Strait Cooperation Vision Forum in Beijing from Monday to Wednesday next week.
Beijing appears to have dominated everything about the event from its naming and agenda to the timing of its news conference, DPP spokeswoman Han Ying (韓瑩) said in a statement.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“The uncanny coordination calls into question whether the KMT answers to Taiwan or China,” she said.
The KMT’s meek acceptance of Beijing’s arrangements for the meeting surrenders the nation’s agency to Chinese whims, which harms national dignity and creates a national security risk, she said.
Beijing allegedly delayed the forum multiple times to signal its displeasure over the KMT’s performance in countering the policies of the DPP-led Executive Yuan, Han said, citing media reports about the forum.
The KMT’s subsequent obstruction — achieved in collaboration with the Taiwan People’s Party — of US arms sales and Taiwan’s effort to build supply chains could be seen as an attempt to curry favor with China, she said.
The DPP must question whether the KMT has relegated itself to acting as a tool of Beijing to meddle in Taiwanese politics, she added.
Members of the KMT delegation should be careful when visiting China, as internal turmoil in the country could endanger their personal safety, Han said.
“Do not get embroiled in China’s internal conflicts just to play along with ‘united front’ efforts,” she said.
KMT Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said he and Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源), who heads the KMT-run National Policy Foundation, are expected to lead a delegation of 40 academics to a forum held by a CCP-run think tank in Beijing.
The panel would discuss tourism, air travel, healthcare, the precision machining sector, artificial intelligence, disaster relief, emergent energy sources and measures to curb carbon emissions.
By insisting on adhering to the so-called “1992 consensus” and rejecting Taiwanese independence, former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration secured economic cooperation with China that subsequent DPP governments inherited and continue to enjoy, he said.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council 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 Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Ma’s policies proved that cooperation and cross-strait exchanges are good for the people on both sides, Hsiao said.
There can be no doubt that the KMT stands with ordinary Taiwanese who support the speedy restoration of cross-strait exchanges, he said.
A poll from last year showed that 80 percent of Taiwanese want to maintain regular bilateral channels of communications, Hsiao added.
The forum is an opening to broadening exchanges between Taiwan and China that would contribute to peace, stability and prosperity, he said.
Several academics have withdrawn from the delegation under pressure from government agencies following news reports about the forum, Hsiao said, calling on the Executive Yuan to refrain from ideological interference with cross-strait economic exchanges.
Cheng’s visit to China is an important part of the party’s vision for cross-strait interactions, but details are still in flux at the moment, he said.
The Mainland Affairs Council said that the KMT’s attempt to label the forum as nonpolitical is a tacit acknowledgement of the event’s deep unpopularity.
The party’s frequent trips to China amid Beijing’s relentless campaign of diplomatic and military intimidation does not escape the notice of Taiwanese, the council said.
China’s goal to annihilate the Republic of China would not change regardless of who has visited Beijing, it said, adding that unauthorized political dialogue with China is illegal.
Without government authorization, organizations are prohibited from engaging in political agreements with China or involving matters related to government authority, the council said.
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