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
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS