Pan-blue legislators have stayed away from China's National Day celebrations, obeying their leaders' calls to protect the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP) from accusations ahead of the presidential election that they are conniving with China.
"According to information we have from the national security network, there were no legislators from the pan-blue camp -- at least in an open, public fashion -- attending China's National Day this year," said Wu Jui-wen (吳瑞文), office manager of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiang Chao-yi (江昭儀).
Chiang, along with DPP legislators such as Trong Chai (蔡同榮) and Lin Chin-hsing (林進興), are members of the Alliance Against Selling Out Taiwan (反賣台聯盟). The alliance was formed to monitor interactions between the pan-blue camp and China.
In a press statement released by the alliance two weeks ago, it said that China had invited pan-blue-camp members to yesterday's National Day celebrations.
The statement said that the invitations were sent to people Beijing believed "had made contributions to the interests of China."
Wu said that, in the past, there were pan-blue legislators, such as former New Party legislator Elmer Feng (馮滬祥), who openly publicized their attendance at the celebrations. But a KMT ban on its members visiting China, Hong Kong and Macao between now and next March's presidential election had been heeded.
The KMT issued the ban shortly after the alliance issued its statement on the invitations.
KMT legislative caucus leader Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進) said that the notice was issued to reduce the chance of critics "defaming" the party and accusing it of collaborating with China to sell out Taiwan.
"While there was no public attendance from the pan-blue legislators this Oct. 1 in China, the alliance will continue to keep an eye on any interaction between the pan-blue camp and Beijing and will publicize our findings when there are any," Wu said.
"We think it is extremely inappropriate for any legislators from Taiwan to attend China's National Day celebration," said Wu. "However, we are not surprised that there are members from civil groups in Taiwan attending."
Wang Jung-hsiung (
"[The invitations] were for the group's high-ranking officers such as the chairman, vice chairman and general-secretary," Wang said, adding that a delegation of four people was now in China.
Tan Shou (唐曙), secretary-general of the pro-unification Labor Party, however, said that the party had not received any invitations for the past two or three years.
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