Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators criticized Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia’s (夏立言) announcement yesterday that he would be visiting China for seven days.
Hsia said in a morning radio interview that he and KMT Mainland Affairs Department officials would be setting off on the visit in the afternoon.
The KMT vice chair also visited China on Feb. 26 and met with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤) on Feb. 29.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Hsia yesterday said that he would visit China often and urged the public not to be surprised, adding that he would not be representing anyone or holding under-the-table talks.
Whether he would be representing himself or the KMT would be his own business, Hsia said.
“We observe freedom of speech,” he added.
In the interview, Hsia was asked why he did not back Taiwan when talking to Song last month about a Chinese vessel that capsized near Kinmen County while being chased by the coast guard, resulting in two deaths. He told Song that the KMT would oversee the DPP in handling the case.
Hsia said he did not want both sides of the Strait to enter a mutually destructive spiral that would heighten tensions.
As the largest opposition party, the KMT is obligated to oversee the government, Hsia said, urging the judiciary to deliver results on the Kinmen case soon.
DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said that Hsia’s comments in China that he would “provide oversight of the Taiwanese government” were surprising.
Hsia and the KMT must clarify which side they are on and which laws they support, Wu said.
The DPP legislative caucus said it respects Hsia and his schedule.
It said it was uncertain whether Hsia was in contact with Chinese officials, but urged him to send the right message regarding public sentiment in Taiwan.
DPP Policy Research and Coordinating Committee director Wang Yi-chuan (王義川) criticized the visit and urged Hsai not to do anything that would harm the interests of Taiwan.
DPP spokesperson Wu Cheng (吳崢) said that despite what Hsia plans to do in China, Beijings’s claim that there is “no such thing as ‘prohibited or restricted waters,’” after the Kinmen incident was a blow to Taiwan’s judicial and maritime sovereignty.
As vice chairman of the country’s largest opposition party, Hsia should uphold the Republic of China’s (ROC) sovereignty, Wu said.
He added that Hsia and the KMT need to clarify their stances regarding Taiwan and the ROC.
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