China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) yesterday canceled a scheduled boat trip on Sun Moon Lake at the last minute and met with People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) instead.
Chen referred to Soong as his “old friend.”
The Lalu Hotel, where Chen was staying, was guarded behind barbed wire barricades. A contingent of 1,000 police officers was mobilized to ensure his safety.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Soong said his meeting with Chen, which was also attended by other high-ranking Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) officials, was about “issues of principle.”
He said he told Chen Taiwan is a free and diverse society where dissenting opinions could be expressed and that an institutionalized negotiation mechanism was the best way to address cross-strait problems peacefully.
However, Soong said the government was not doing a good job in communicating its policies.
PHOTO: HSIEH CHIEH-YU, TAIPEI TIMES
He said that when the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in power, then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) frequently sent then-Mainland Affairs Council chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to communicate with him and other party leaders about government policies.
“That’s what I call communication,” he said. “Taiwan claims to be a democracy, but it seems the government is reluctant to communicate.”
Soong said he had originally planned to host a banquet for Chen in Miaoli on Wednesday, but this had proved impossible and he had to resort to plan B, which was to host yesterday’s lunch in Nantou.
Soong said the SEF had conveyed a message from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) that it was not a good idea for political parties to host banquets for Chen during his visit, although he added that the way the SEF conveyed the message was “not very skillful.”
He declined to elaborate, saying it would be inappropriate for him to do so, since Chen was still in Taiwan.
Soong urged the government to remember how he and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) broke the ice of stagnant cross-strait ties during their separate trips to China in 2005.
“Don’t deny the contributions made by Lien and any other individual to address cross-strait problems,” he said.
PFP Secretary-General Chin Ching-sheng (秦金生) said that since Taiwan was a free and open society, it was clearly a violation of the fundamental principles of a democracy to restrict any individual or party from contacting Chen.
“A leader should not have an authoritarian attitude, nor should he try to monopolize the cross-strait relationship,” he added.
While Soong said his meeting with Chen had been scheduled last month, the assistant minister of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Li Yafei (李亞飛), later said that Chen canceled a planned tour of the lake at the last moment in order to meet an “old friend.”
Reporters at Sun Moon Lake heaped scorn on Chen yesterday afternoon for failing to show up at the last minute for his scheduled boat trip.
More than 60 members of the media were told to board the media boats at 2:20pm to wait for Chen and his entourage to board the main vessel. After waiting on the boat for more than an hour under the sun, there was still no sign of Chen.
The reporters were furious that they were notified of Chen’s change of plan after the media boats had cast off and were waiting in the middle of the lake.
None of the accompanying government officials, including officials from the Government Information Office and the Mainland Affairs Council, had informed the media of Chen’s decision. The reporters found out about his change of plan from their colleagues who had stayed behind at the hotel.
“This is a huge fraud and indicates complete disrespect for the media,” said a television reporter, who added that this was the second time reporters had been “fooled” since Chen arrived in Taiwan on Monday.
The first time was on Monday, when the press corps was driven around Taichung following Chen as he toured the city. Instead of notifying the media of Chen’s itinerary beforehand, the reporters were kept in the dark until his bus stopped at each destination.
A newspaper reporter surnamed Chiu said media freedom in Taiwan had become so restricted that it was becoming similar to the situation in China, where reporters are often purposely misled or given inaccurate information.
Despite Chen’s absence, SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and his wife still went on the lake tour with Chen’s wife.
Only a few minor protests staged by Falun Gong practitioners and pro-independence supporters took place under heavy police surveillance around the lake yesterday.
Later last night, Nantou County Commissioner Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿) hosted a banquet for Chen.
“I did not realize my dream of touring the lake in the afternoon because of a business matter, but I am here and I am still able to enjoy the grand view of the beautiful lake and the mountain,” Chen said at the banquet held at the Lalu Hotel.
Chen and the Chinese delegation will end their five-day trip around noon today.
Soong, who had been scheduled to attend the banquet, said he had another pressing engagement and sent Chin to attend on his behalf.
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