The Mainland Affairs Council on Friday said that it would impose stricter checks on academics from China’s Xiamen University who plan to visit Taiwan after the school established two unification promotion research centers.
The university on Wednesday announced the establishment of the Research Center for Diplomacy Involving Taiwan as well as the Amalgamated Cross-strait Development and National Unification Policy Simulation Laboratory.
The centers would use artificial intelligence to simulate scenarios involving a China unified with Taiwan under Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework, it said.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The Research Center for Diplomacy Involving Taiwan would be led by the dean of the university’s School of Law, Ji Ye (季燁), while the Amalgamated Cross-strait Development and National Unification Policy Simulation Laboratory would be headed by the dean of the university’s Graduate Institute for Taiwan Studies, Chen Xiancai (陳先才), the university added.
During the administration of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), researchers from the university and various Chinese think tanks frequently visited Taiwan and its outlying islands “under the pretense of academic cooperation and research,” a source said on Friday.
Chen, Ji and other Chinese researchers whose work is focused on unification would undergo stricter scrutiny when applying to visit Taiwan, and would likely be refused entry, the council said, adding that it would be the first time the National Immigration Agency introduces such strict checks for visiting Chinese academics.
The Research Center for Diplomacy Involving Taiwan would allow Chinese academics specializing in Taiwan to more easily connect, while promoting exchanges in the US, Europe, Japan and elsewhere that emphasize the “one China” principle and preventing the development of “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan” policies, the university said.
Through simulations and artificial intelligence, the Amalgamated Cross-strait Development and National Unification Policy Simulation Laboratory would “develop cross-strait policies that would advance international society’s understanding of and support for China’s national unification,” the university added.
Taiwanese academics and think tanks should clearly see the intentions of the university’s new research centers and avoid exchanges with its academics, the council said.
The Chinese Communist Party would attempt to engage academics and policymakers in other countries through the centers under the pretense of representing Taiwan to force its “one country, two systems” framework on the nation, it said.
All Taiwanese should be clearly aware of Beijing’s “united front” methods and work together to protect Taiwan’s sovereignty, the council added.
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