President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has expressed a wish that China scale back visits from high-level officials to Taiwan “during a certain period of time.”
During a meeting with pan-blue Taipei City councilors at the Presidential Office on Thursday, Ma did not mention how long the “certain period of time” would be, but some city councilors who were at the meeting interpreted it to mean that visits from large groups of high-level Chinese officials would probably not be seen until after next year’s presidential and legislative elections in January.
According to those present at the Thursday gathering, Ma said media portrayal of local government officials competing to extend invitations to high-level Chinese officials, such as provincial governors and secretaries, had left a bad impression on the general public.
Ma was quoted by those at the meeting as saying that he had conveyed his message through proper channels that China should cut down visits from high-level officials.
Presidential Office spokesman Fang Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) later confirmed that Ma had conveyed his wish to China through the Mainland Affairs Council in order to reduce the effects of outside factors on the campaign season in Taiwan.
Some city councilors said they were surprised at Ma’s “rare expression of putting the brakes” on cross-strait exchanges.
Ma’s remarks also provoked criticism across party lines.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tsao Erh-chung (曹爾忠) said that cross-strait issues should be handled normally, without ulterior considerations during elections.
Saying that Taiwan welcomed officials coming to Taiwan to shop around, KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) suggested that what Ma was worried about was the attitude of some visiting Chinese officials, who had been arrogant and acted as though they were on a charity tour.
It is also a reminder that KMT local representatives should act in a more refined manner to avoid giving anyone the chance to manipulate politics, Lai added.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), on the other hand, said that Ma’s comments were a clumsy denial that had only exposed his motive. He said Ma was secretly hoping that China would help his election campaign efforts, but was also worried that Chinese help would backfire on him.
Tsai questioned the Ma administration’s claims that Chinese tour groups would bring economic benefits to Taiwan by buying agricultural produce.
“If it were so, why was the Ma administration afraid that the working class might not accept his policy?” he asked.
DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said there were rumors that China had asked each of its provinces to “adopt” a county or city in Taiwan, which was why provinces and towns in China had formed tourist groups to visit Taiwan.
Huang added that the big promotions about the benefits of Chinese tourism had not lived up to expectations, adding that instead of helping Ma’s campaign efforts, they had only deducted points from his administration’s image.
TRANSLATED BY JAKE CHUNG, STAFF WRITER
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY TSENG WEI-CHEN
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