Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) yesterday confirmed that he would head a delegation of KMT lawmakers on a visit to China before May 20 in an attempt to alleviate cross-strait tensions before the inauguration of president-elect William Lai (賴清德).
With the Middle East embroiled in the Israel-Hamas conflict and Russia’s war with Ukraine ongoing, there are concerns that the Taiwan Strait would become the next flashpoint in global tensions, Fu said.
Tensions across the Strait have resulted in a near-cessation of Taiwan-China tourism, and Taiwanese agricultural and fishery products cannot be exported to China, he said, adding that people must help themselves.
Photo: CNA
Fu said the purpose of the visit is to pave the way for Taiwanese to enjoy prosperity, a goal that all businesses are hoping for.
“What the government isn’t doing, we will,” Fu said.
The resumption of industrial collaborations and tourism would benefit people on both sides of the Strait, Fu said, adding that the resumption of tourism could greatly help areas heavily damaged during the April 3 earthquake.
Fu said that the KMT would retaliate if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) attempted to pass legislation in the delegation’s absence.
DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) yesterday that while the DPP caucus respected Fu’s plans, she hoped that the visit would not affect the normal operations of the legislature.
The most important job of a legislator is to provide adequate oversight of the government, she said.
Wu also told Fu that he would be representing the legislature and should carefully consider who he meets and what he says.
Fu should live up to the public’s expectations and not complicate issues due to his political ambitions, she added.
Wu said there are rumors that aside from Fu, other KMT members, including KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and former legislative speaker Wang Jyn-ping (王金平), have similar plans.
The DPP takes the same stance regarding all such visits, and urges the KMT to say the right things and to uphold Taiwanese sovereignty, Wu said.
DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠庭) said Taiwan is a free country and that democratically elected legislators can go where they want.
He said that people would make their own judgement when the legislature cannot operate normally because so many KMT legislators are absent.
DPP Legislator Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸) said the KMT delegations should ensure that their itineraries are transparent and whether they might undermine the sovereignty of the nation, adding that legislators abandoning their duties to visit China was a questionable choice.
Separately, KMT Culture and Communications director Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) yesterday said that the party headquarters was not aware of Fu’s plans and that the party was not involved in the planning of the itinerary.
Lee said that she did not know whether Fu intended to meet with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤).
All party members’ visits to China would observe the Constitution, and all interactions would be equal and dignified, she said.
Fu’s visit would be conducted using the same principles as the visit of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Lee said, adding that Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) would not be able to join the delegation as the legislature is in session.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang
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