In the latest round of goodwill exchanges across the Strait, Premier Tang Fei (
Tang's comments come a day after the MAC rejected a proposed visit by Xiamen Mayor Zhu Yayan (
"We welcome exchanges between local officials on both sides as long as the visits are conducted on the basis of mutual respect and equality," Tang said in a meeting with county and municipal officials in southern Taiwan.
The audience included Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (
Tang urged the Xiamen mayor to submit his visit application to the Cabinet and said the government would process it "according to the law."
"The current legislation is vague on the restrictions ... I have already instructed the MAC and the Ministry of the Interior to evaluate and make necessary adjustments," Tang said.
His comment echoed an earlier remark made by MAC Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (
Taiwan's laws currently bar exchanges between its officials and their Chinese counterparts, but cross-strait trips are allowed under the guise of semi-official, academic or professional capacities. Chinese officials who plan to visit Taiwan must submit their application two months in advance to the interior ministry.
On Friday Hsieh faxed a letter to the mayor of Xiamen expressing his regret that Zhu was not able to make the trip and asked him to reschedule it for a later date.
But despite Tang's comment, the MAC's director of legal affairs, Johnnason Liu (
"Cross-strait affairs are not conducted on a short-term basis. Zhu's application will follow procedures used in ratifying other Chinese officials who have visited Taiwan," Liu said.
"It would be impossible to approve Zhu's application in two to three days -- such a procedure would go against our strategic considerations," he said.
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