The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said that Beijing was spouting futile propaganda after Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Huning (王滬寧) unveiled a plan to transform China’s Fujian Province into a showcase zone for “Taiwan’s economic integration into China.”
Wang made the remarks at the Straits Forum in Xiamen earlier in the day.
The MAC said the CCP has long used the forum to push its “united front” agenda against Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of the KMT
Beijing’s ignorance of Taiwanese aspirations and its constant belittlement of the nation renders its propaganda campaign an exercise in futility, the council said.
China would be better served to halt its menacing military drills and display honest goodwill than wasting money and labor on ritualistic propaganda events to which Taiwanese are indifferent, it said.
Beijing can make a positive contribution to cross-strait relations by lifting restrictions on Chinese visiting or studying in Taiwan, the council said, adding that they would benefit from experiencing democracy and freedom.
The Straits Forum, an annual conference between China and Taiwan, started in 2009 with the aim of promoting grassroots interactions, economic and trade exchanges, and cultural integration.
Among those who attended this year’s forum were a delegation led by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) and Chang Kai-chun (張凱鈞), chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party’s Taiwanese Businesspeople Affairs Committee.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said in a statement that the forum’s goal “to work together in realizing the goal of peacefully uniting the motherland” clearly states its intentions to bring about unification.
The forum is nothing but a large-scale “united front” rhetoric platform, the statement said.
The CCP claims it is initiating dialogue and trying to work with Taiwan, but it is also stepping up its military threats against Taiwan, the DPP said, adding that the strategy did not foster healthy and orderly interactions.
Hsia and Chang should be on the alert for Chinese political machinations, and must not inadvertently harm Taiwan’s interests and dignity, the DPP added.
Additional reporting by Chen Cheng-yu
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS