Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) is to visit Washington from July 16 to July 23, but his itinerary would not be disclosed due to diplomatic considerations, MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday.
Chen is to give a speech on the administration’s cross-strait policy at an unnamed academic conference, Chiu told a news conference in Taipei,.
He would also meet high-ranking officials, think tanks and prominent members of the Taiwanese-American community, and exchange views on major issues with the US government, Chiu said.
The council would not disclose more details about the identity or affiliation of the officials Chen is to visit out of respect for the diplomatic understanding between the two countries, he said.
“It is routine and normal practice for the minister of the council to discuss the government’s policy abroad and at any rate the minister’s itinerary is not yet finalized,” he said.
Asked to comment on a referendum proposal to outlaw public display of the Chinese national flag, Chiu said: “To this day, Mainland China refuses to recognize the Republic of China’s (ROC) sovereignty, to renounce military aggression against Taiwan or to allow the display of the ROC flag.”
The government condemns any acts of violence accompanying the display of the Chinese national flag that endanger national security or social order, he said.
“The council fully respects the lawful, democratic and political right of the Taiwanese people to propose referendums,” he added.
The Central Election Commission yesterday convened a hearing as part of an ongoing legal review of a referendum proposal to ban public display of the Chinese flag, which the Ministry of Justice believes could constitute a violation of freedom of speech.
The proposition is one among many that members of the public and politicians have submitted since amendments to the Referendum Act (公民投票法) passed into law in January.
The amendments significantly reduced the number of signatures needed to initiate a referendum and the number of votes that need to be cast to make a referendum valid.
Since January, there have been a slew of controversial referendum proposals on issues ranging from same-sex marriage to sex education and nuclear energy, of which the commission has authorized 19 to proceed to the second phase of signature gathering.
The commission has to decide about the Chinese flag ban proposal’s legality within 30 days of the hearing’s conclusion.
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