A plan by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to invite 50 Chinese students to Taiwan as part of an exchange program is facing scrutiny, with a legislator questioning the purpose.
Under the initiative, organized by the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, the students are to visit for nine days next month, holding “academic exchanges” with students from National Taiwan University, National Chengchi University and Chinese Culture University, foundation director Hsiao Hsu-chen (蕭旭岑) said.
Ma made a special effort to invite top students from China’s five leading schools, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Wuhan University and Hunan University, Hsiao said, adding that they would also visit famous sites, including Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County and Jiufen Old Street in New Taipei City, as well as sites in Taipei.
Photo: Taipei Times file
“They would learn about the local culture and people of Taiwan, and pass on positive messages to promote the better development of cross-strait relations,” he said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) on Thursday said that while the government is open to Chinese groups applying to visit under a special category, the foundation’s program must go through the proper channels with the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and conform to Taiwan’s laws and regulations.
Ma said that the foundation submitted an itinerary and details of the program to the MAC.
The council is reviewing the program, and has contacted the foundation for more details to assess the Chinese students selected for the visit, Cheng said.
More questions need to be asked, he said.
“Do the participating students have special status, and can they be replaced if rejected?” he said.
“Our understanding is that some of the students were chosen in their early years at universities by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officers at each school to be groomed for party membership,” Cheng said. “So we have to verify them, and also see if they are needed for the program to be held or can be replaced with other students. In any case, Ma’s deputies have to apply for it as a special program through the MAC.”
When Ma visited China earlier this year, he enjoyed the trip and was well-received in China, where he received a high degree of media coverage, he said.
“However, we must not forget that Chinese officials have their own political motives,” he said. “Ma attended ancestor worship events in Hunan and other provinces, and footage of those events were incorporated into propaganda films made by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army as part of their united front campaign targeting Taiwanese,” he said.
“MAC officials would closely review the proposal, as they must uphold Taiwan’s dignity and sovereignty, and safeguard the dignity of the former president, as China has always worked to undermine Taiwan’s political status,” Cheng said.
A government official speaking on condition of anonymity yesterday said that the students did not apply to particpate in the event on their own, but were assigned by CCP officials at Chinese universities.
It is not a “normal youth exchange, but one designed to further China’s united front tactics,” the official said.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
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