Using pandas to further the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “united front” rhetoric would have limited effect, a government source said yesterday, after a top Chinese official last week urged 39 Taiwanese students visiting Sichuan Province to oppose Taiwanese independence.
Undergraduate and master’s students aged 35 or under who would be applying for their first-ever “Taiwan compatriot permit” were eligible for the eight-day camp, which ran from Monday last week to Monday, according to the Web site of the Taiwan Development Institute, which handled recruitment for the trip.
Camp participants would be hosted by the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), which arranged the itinerary, which included a visit to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Chengdu Radio & Television Co’s headquarters and scenic sites, the Web site said.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Development Institute
The ARATS said each participant was expected to pay NT$22,000 for airfares, other travel expenses, accommodation and other costs.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Deputy Director Wu Xi (吳璽) said at the camp’s opening ceremony last week that participants from either side of the Taiwan Strait should interact, work together to promote what is good for the Chinese people, advocate the spread of Chinese culture and steadfastly oppose Taiwanese independence.
In Taipei, a government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, warned about such events.
Regardless of the nature of an event organized by the CCP — even if it is ostensibly about pandas — the core theme is always the same: to promote unification and oppose Taiwanese independence, the official said.
ARATS and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office branches in Chinese provinces have never given up attempting to influence young Taiwanese with their “united front” rhetoric, but the actual effects are limited, the source said.
None of the Taiwanese professors who have worked in China over the past few years have achieved academic success, the official said, adding that the many Taiwanese youth entrepreneurial start-up pilot zones in China have become little more than ghost towns due to the declining economic performance across the Strait.
Any opportunity provided for Taiwanese is snatched from locals, which only breeds discontent among Chinese, the official said, adding that there is little opportunity to find a job or start a business in China.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
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The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
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