Civil servants are prohibited from joining activities organized by Beijing celebrating the retrocession of Taiwan, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
Party officials, teachers and people in the private sector should also observe cross-strait regulations by not attending Chinese “united front” activities, MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said.
The council issued the warning as the nation is to commemorate Retrocession Day on Saturday next week.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
“This year is the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and 76th anniversary of the Battle [of Guningtou]. It has come to our attention that China has planned celebratory activities for the two historic events,” Liang said.
“We can have freedom and democracy today, because people and the military stood united during the Battle of Guningtou to withstand the invasion of the Chinese People Liberation Army,” Liang said. “The true meaning of observing the holiday is to remember how people in Taiwan defied the invader’s ambition to annex the nation.”
The Ministry of National Defense also plans to hold events celebrating the battle.
In other news, Liang said that tourists from Hong Kong and Macau can contact the MAC in case of emergencies, following reports that a Hong Konger was sexually assaulted by a Taiwanese man in the lobby of a Taiwan railway station.
The council was only informed about the incident after the tourist had left Taiwan, Liang said, adding that they hoped that she would receive justice.
Taiwan’s crime rate remains low, he said, adding that the country ranked fourth on Numbeo’s Safety Index this year.
The incident should not prevent Hong Kong tourists from visiting Taiwan, Liang said.
Tourists from Hong Kong and Macau could contact the MAC for emergency assistance, as the territories’ offices in Taipei have ceased to function, he said, adding that the council is experienced in assisting tourists.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance and the Financial Supervisory Commission said they are investigating whether a member of the military was denied a state bank loan due to being on China’s “wanted list,” Liang said.
“From the council’s perspective, it would be absolutely unacceptable if a state-funded bank indeed rejected a bank loan request from a military serviceperson on such grounds,” he said.
China’s issuance of “bounty notices” for what it called 18 members of Taiwan’s “psychological warfare unit” along with threats of the death penalty is another example of Beijing threatening Taiwanese with frivolous lawsuits and arrests, much like the “22 guidelines to punish Taiwanese independence separatists” it announced last year, Liang said.
“We urge people not to collude with China to collect the small bounties it promised. Those who do so could be sentenced to more than seven years in prison,” he added.
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