The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday gave its conditional approval to the Taipei-Shanghai Twin City Forum, reserving the right to reverse the decision if China escalates military actions deemed threatening to Taiwan.
Taiwan has allowed Taipei to host the annual forums since 2010, despite a surge in Chinese saber-rattling, MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a routine conference in Taipei.
Taipei is scheduled to hold the forum on smart technology and sustainability with a delegation from Shanghai on Tuesday next week.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The MAC permitted Taipei to hold its forum with Shanghai on account of the city government’s belief in the event’s necessity and its policy to extend goodwill to China, he said.
The council and the Taipei City Government are in agreement that the forum is to be delayed indefinitely should Beijing ratchet up pressure on Taiwan, Liang said.
The MAC trusts that Taipei would take the responsibility to prevent China from using the event as an opportunity to spread propaganda, he said.
The Ministry of National Defense has been keeping the MAC apprised of the Chinese military’s air and sea activities around Taiwan, he said.
The appropriateness of hosting the forum amid soaring tensions across the Taiwan Strait was a concern the MAC raised during its discussions with the Taipei City Government, Liang added.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said on the sidelines of an event that Taipei should consider the mixed reaction to a recent visit to Taiwan by a Chinese group invited by the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation.
If the Taipei City Government goes forward with the forum, it must ensure its guests are well-informed about the expectations Taiwan has of them to avoid discord, Cho said.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s drills involving aircraft and ships pose a threat not only to Taiwan, but also to Japan, the Philippines and the Indo-Pacific region as a whole, Cho said.
Taiwan calls on China to cease its inappropriate and irrational behavior in the interest of facilitating healthy relations across the Strait, he said.
Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) 2022 campaign promise was to host the forum only if China stopped harassing Taiwan and expressed goodwill to talk as equals, DPP Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) said.
The forum should be canceled, as Chinese milotary activity since Monday, including the deployment of 90 Chinese warships, shows that Beijing has not meet any of Chiang’s conditions, Hsu wrote on Facebook.
The forum was held 14 times with no reduction of tensions across the Strait, DPP Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-fong (林延鳳) said.
There is no reason for Chiang’s enthusiasm to host the event other than to satisfy his personal ambitions or appease China, Lin said.
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