Educators, political parties, civic groups and ordinary Taiwanese must comply with cross-strait regulations and prioritize national interests, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after the Ministry of Education issued a similar warning over “united front” activities amid reports that groups are seeking people to join low-cost tours to Chinese cities.
Faculty, staff and students at universities must not propagate Chinese propaganda or participate in any “united front” activities, the ministry said in a letter to universities.
Cross-strait exchanges are to expand mutual understanding and communication, and institutes should abide by cross-strait regulations, and uphold dignity and equality, the ministry said.
Photo: Rachel Lin, Taipei Times
While it supports constructive cross-strait exchanges, faculty, staff and students should not participate in any “united front” activities to prevent contravening cross-strait laws, it said.
Students told reporters that groups were advertising trips to China at prices starting as low as NT$18,900 for an eight-day tour, including round-trip airfares, accommodation, meals, insurance and guided activities, with early-bird sign-ups offered free three-day, two-night trips to Hong Kong.
A registration form linked to on the Facebook page of Spring Rain, a non-profit run by the Association of Chinese Elites, invited people to “immerse yourself in the magic of Shanghai and Suzhou, travel through the splendor of the capital, encounter a winter wonderland and stroll through the land of abundance.”
Exchange tours organized by the association have long targeted young Taiwanese, with more than 10,000 students having participated in more than 30 trips, Chinese-language media reported.
Those who arrange their own flights would pay only NT$7,900 to NT$9,900, the form showed.
A “Cross-strait Northern Winter Camp” costs only NT$4,000, excluding airfares, with a 10 percent discount available for bringing a friend, it showed.
The itineraries are often vague, listing only broad activities such as “cultural lectures,” “youth forums” or “exchange events” for morning, afternoon and evening slots each day, media reports said.
However, registration forms require detailed personal information, including social media accounts, campus leadership roles, prior visits to China, views on cross-strait relations and experiences interacting with Chinese students, the reports said.
Students told reporters they worried that they would be “put on a list” if they stated their national identity as the Republic of China or their cross-strait stance as “one China, one Taiwan.”
There was no way to know in advance whether they would encounter Chinese officials, they said, adding that they would have no choice but to cooperate if any “united front” activities took place.
The MAC yesterday urged educators, political parties, civic groups and ordinary Taiwanese to comply with cross-strait regulations and prioritize national interests.
People should refrain from participating in activities organized by China or that support China’s positions, the MAC said, adding that all Taiwanese should stand together to defend the nation’s sovereignty, freedom and democracy.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
NUMBERs IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
RSS