Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday gave conditional backing to a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus proposal to declare Chinese official Jiang Ping (江平) persona non grata because of his actions at the Tokyo International Film Festival over the weekened.
Ahead of the opening ceremony, Jiang, Chinese delegation chief and deputy director-general of the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV’s film bureau, demanded the Taiwanese delegation change its name from “Taiwan” to “China, Taiwan” or “Chinese Taipei.” He threatened to block Taiwanese films in the Chinese market after his request was rejected.
“If [Jiang] continues to maintain this attitude, it would mean that he is extremely unfriendly to Taiwan. In that case, it goes without saying the legislature could declare him persona non grata,” Wu said while fielding questions from KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) on the legislative floor.
Saying he thought Jiang and the Chinese government were playing “good cop, bad cop,” Lai asked Wu if he agreed with Executive Yuan spokesman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), who termed the incident an “isolated case,” but separated Jiang from Chinese officialdom.
Wu said he disagreed on Lai’s “white cop, bad cop game” characterization, but he said the incident could not be considered an isolated one without further observation, including how China’s Taiwan Affairs Office handles the issue.
However, the premier rejected Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Gao Jyh-peng’s (高志鵬) request that the government demand an apology from China.
Chiang’s judgement that the Chinese authorities were not involved in the contretempts was “correct,” Wu said.
“China’s population is more than 1.3 billion and it has a huge bureaucracy. So far, only Mr Jiang was so rude [to Taiwan],” Wu said, adding that the Presidential Office had urged China to take remedial measures and that he himself had criticized Jiang over his behavior.
“Wasn’t this enough?” Wu asked, adding it would be inappropriate for him to demand Jiang apologize to Taiwan.
“If I, as premier, demand [Jiang] apologize and he refused, wouldn’t it be the case that it was beneath my dignity?” Wu said.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Ma Zhaoxu (馬朝旭) said yesterday that the ministry “would make proper, reasonable arrangements” concerning Taiwan’s participation in international events on the condition that such participation would not create the impression of “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.”
When asked to comment last night on Ma’s statement, Wu said he needed to read a full transcript first.
“I have been thinking that both sides of the [Taiwan] Strait have been through a hard time turning from an attitude of confrontation to developing mutual prosperity … Why let one or two persons [spoil the relationship?]” Wu said. “We need to get back on course to continue accumulating goodwill and refrain from damaging the mutual trust built up so far.”
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
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