The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment.
The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the CCP might have cherry-picked them, Shen said.
Photo: CNA
However, absent any changes to legislation, the council would ensure that their itineraries and applications after arrival in Taiwan are approved if they meet the current standards, the MAC said.
Forty Chinese students and teachers from seven universities, including Chinese Olympic gold medalists Ma Long (馬龍) and Yang Qian (楊倩), invited by the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, yesterday arrived in Taiwan.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) citing an official with knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that all of the members of the group were members of the Communist Youth League of China, CCP reserve cadres, or, in the case of Ma Long, standing members of the CCP.
The mission of the delegation is to spread Chinese propaganda for the CCP government, the source said.
Asked for comment, Ma
Long said he hoped to travel around Taiwan and experience its gastronomic delights.
When asked if he had been in contact with Taiwanese table tennis player Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) and whether a friendly match would be scheduled, Ma said he had not reached out and that the possibility of a match would depend on his itinerary.
Yang said she also wished to tour the country.
The Chinese delegation visiting during the nadir of cross-strait relations showed that regardless of how frigid the relationship could become, sports and youth interactions would always remain something in common across the Strait, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation CEO Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday.
The foundation has been working hard to promote youth interactions, as such activities would build the foundation of a future involving both sides and prevent cross-strait conflict, Hsiao said.
The foundation would arrange a baseball event, hoping Ma Long and Yang would participate and help spread Taiwan’s baseball culture to China, Hsiao added.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,