The travel alert for China would remain “orange,” even though China has been declared a “hostile foreign force,” the Mainland Affairs Council told reporters in Taipei yesterday.
The council was asked whether there would be any change in the travel alert after President William Lai (賴清德) said Beijing’s increasing infiltration efforts against Taiwan has made it a “hostile foreign force” as defined by the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法).
“We raised the travel alert to orange, because Beijing has been attempting to destroy the Republic of China and has intimated Taiwanese by detaining and arresting them without following due process and implementing 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called ‘diehard’ Taiwanese independence activists,” Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference.
Photo: CNA
“We had already taken political factors into consideration when adjusting the travel alert, which would remain orange for now. We did not see the necessity to further raise the travel alert to red,” he said.
Some tourism operators have expressed concern that people would soon be asked to register their trips to China with the government, as stated by the president in his speech last week, saying the requirement would dampen interest in visiting China and consequently affect their business.
In response, Liang said that the registration is intended as a safety measure.
“We have been clear all along that the registration for travelers to China is not mandatory and would not be used to control their whereabouts. Rather, it is to let travelers know ways to seek assistance in emergency situations,” he said.
Liang was also asked whether the government should consider raising travel alerts to certain countries that have close relations with China and might collude with Beijing to extradite Taiwanese independence advocates to China.
He said that the council has yet to see countries extradite people to China on charges of secession.
“We have examined extradition treaties China signed with 60 countries. A person is not likely to be extradited unless their action is deemed a crime in both countries. China is perhaps one of the few countries that consider secession a crime, but we do not exclude the possibility that certain countries might be very cooperative with China on this matter. We will ask Taiwanese travelers to be particularly cautious when traveling in these countries, but so far we have not seen any such cases,” he said.
On the Ministry of Education’s suggestion that students in primary and junior-high schools avoid participating in cross-strait exchanges, Liang said that China has indeed switched its focus to influencing Taiwan’s next generation.
“From our perspective, we would not issue a comprehensive ban on cross-strait exchange activities for primary and junior-high students. However, we hope that such activities would be depoliticized and secure unanimous approval from parents’ associations, rather than an unilateral decision from the school staff and faculty,” he said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS