Beijing’s retaliation for the government’s approval of the visit of the Dalai Lama may not be as simple as suspending cross-strait exchanges, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
MAC Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said the public must not simply look at the changes to cross-strait exchanges to judge the impact of the Buddhist leader’s visit because many elements must be factored in.
To suspend cross-strait exchanges was indeed one way for Beijing to express its frustration, Liu said, but the public must look at the whole picture before jumping to any conclusions.
Liu was responding to questions about the possible impact of the visit of the spiritual leader of the Tibetan government in exile. The Dalai Lama is scheduled to leave today.
Li Yafei (李亞飛), assistant minister of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Monday that Beijing’s position on the Dalai Lama’s visit was resolute and that the trip was bound to have an adverse effect on cross-strait ties.
Li did not elaborate, adding that Beijing would continue to monitor developments during the visit.
On the same day the Dalai Lama arrived, regular cross-strait flights were officially launched, but airlines in both China and Taiwan decided to ditch their inauguration ceremonies and events celebrating the launch of the regular flight services.
China also announced that it would not attend the opening ceremony of the Taipei Deaflympics, which will be held tomorrow.
The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), however, had been clear about the nature of the visit, which was religious and humanitarian, Liu said. So far, the visit seemed to meet those objectives, he said, adding that he hoped Beijing would notice this.
“We hope his visit will not have any negative impact on cross-strait relations,” Liu said. “We really don’t know whether it will, but we will continue to watch developments closely.”
Meanwhile, Tourism Bureau Director General Janice Lai (賴瑟珍) said yesterday the visit of the Dalai Lama had caused some tour groups from China to cancel their scheduled trips.
Lai said the secretary of Jiangsu Province’s Communist Party has yet to confirm a visit next month and that the secretary was planning to bring approximately 2,000 staff and tourists.
“We have no idea if the group is still planning to come,” Lai said.
The bureau had also planned a visit from a group of Chinese travel agents to scout potential travel routes, however it has been postponed.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHELLEY SHAN
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS