Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said his latest trip to China, including his attendance at the Straits Forum, can promote “closer people-to-people exchanges” across the Taiwan Strait.
“It [the visit] is not only about deepening our understanding of the local history and industrial development of Fujian Province, but also about promoting closer people-to-people exchanges across the Strait through face-to-face interaction,” Ma said at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before embarking on his fourth visit to China since leaving office.
“We hope this exchange will encourage more young people from Taiwan to visit the mainland, and likewise welcome young people from the mainland to visit Taiwan, so they can learn from each other through interaction,” he said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“I believe this will definitely be very helpful for the development of cross-strait peace,” Ma said, adding that his first stop would be Xiamen in China’s Fujian Province.
Leading a group of Taiwanese students on a two-week visit to China until June 27, Ma is scheduled to attend the 17th Straits Forum in Xiamen, which begins today.
First held in 2009, the forum has been organized annually in Xiamen by “relevant organizations across the Strait,” with the aim of “promoting broad exchanges across all sectors and enhancing people-to-people cooperation between the two sides,” an official publication for this year’s forum said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The forum is supported by the Chinese government.
On Wednesday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said that 7,000 participants from Taiwan — including political party representatives and delegates from a broad range of sectors — are expected to attend.
Ma’s planned attendance at the Straits Forum has drawn criticism from the administration of President William Lai (賴清德), with the Mainland Affairs Council on Wednesday urging Ma not to become a propaganda tool for Beijing’s “united front” efforts.
“The Straits Forum is a ‘united front’ platform used by the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] to target Taiwan,” it said, adding that during Ma’s presidency, regulations were introduced to bar central government agency personnel from participating in the forum to prevent infiltration.
“The government finds it [Ma’s attendance at the forum] deeply regrettable and inconceivable, and believes it will not gain the support of the majority of Taiwanese,” it said.
The council reminded Ma to comply with laws governing cross-strait affairs and urged him “not to cooperate with the CCP’s political agenda.”
Ma Ying-jeou Foundation CEO Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) on Friday was quoted by the Chinese-language United Daily News as saying that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should stop using the term “united front” to intimidate the public into not engaging in cross-strait exchanges.
Hsiao said he had reviewed all the laws in Taiwan and found that none include the term “united front,” aside from a few administrative directives, adding that the government should not accuse citizens based on terminology that lacks a legal basis.
After attending the Straits Forum, Ma’s delegation is to travel to Gansu Province for cultural activities and to learn about the Silk Road, Hsiao said.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS