Taipei’s protest against the inclusion of Taiwan in China’s pending National Security Law was expressed via Mainland Affairs Council Minister Andrew Hsia (夏立言), but was rejected by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) at their first meeting in Kinmen yesterday.
Hsia told a post-meeting news conference that he conveyed the public’s dissatisfaction at the article about Taiwan in the law and a statement signed between China and Belarus, in which Minsk said it opposes Taiwan’s participation in international organizations that require statehood for membership.
Article 11 of the law stipulates that the protection of China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is an obligation for “all Chinese people,” including the people of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, and that no division is to be tolerated.
Photo: EPA
“I reiterated our positions about and the public’s negative reactions to [the two issues] and urged [China] to sympathize with the concerns of Taiwanese,” Hsia said.
Hsia said he told Zhang that China should show more kindness toward Taiwan with regard to the nation’s participation in the international community, because only by doing so can China contribute to the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.
Zhang responded by saying that what was stated in its National Security Law about Taiwan was in line with its policy, which has not changed for years, Hsia said.
“We voiced our displeasure and he explained his stance. That ended the matter,” Hsia said.
Last week, Hsia promised lawmakers at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee that he would protest the law.
Hsia did not do so in public, but in a closed-door meeting with Zhang.
In Hsia’s opening remarks before the meeting, he said that China should heed discontent among Taiwanese over issues related to “security” and “dignity,” without specifying any specific events.
“Especially some recent events related to Taiwan’s security, dignity and international participation that have raised concerns among the public,” Hsia said.
The first Hsia-Zhang meeting was the third set of high-level cross-strait talks since the first official contact between the governments on either side of the Taiwan Strait took place in Beijing in February last year.
Not much progress was made in discussions about Taiwan’s bid and nomenclature in the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Hsia said.
Given that the articles of agreement for the AIIB are still under discussion among its founding members, it was “still too early to” discuss these issues, Hsia said.
“With regard to the designation, we have repeatedly said that ‘Chinese Taipei’ is our bottom line. I am sure that they understand this well,” Hsia said.
At a separate post-meeting news conference, Zhang said that China “welcomes” Taiwan’s participation in the AIIB and its concerns.
“Related authorities will positively consider the concerns Taiwan has raised and stay in communication with Taiwan to explore possible ways for Taiwan to join the AIIB under an appropriate designation,” Zhang said.
On the request repeatedly made that China make Taiwan a transit point for its tourists traveling to other destinations to boost the nation’s aviation industry, Hsia was optimistic that technical issues would be ironed out mid-year.
“We hope to reach a consensus in the middle of this year,” Hsia said.
Zhang said that both sides should make preparations for Chinese tourists to transit in Taiwan to other countries, including “some measures to facilitate transit.”
When asked by reporters whether China’s repeated demand that Taiwan open the middle line of the Taiwan Strait to accommodate cross-strait flights would be one of the “measures,” Hsia said the issues were not linked.
Beijing has previously tied the transit issue to its demand that Taiwan allow cross-strait flights to take routes directly across the Taiwan Strait rather than either across the East China Sea or the South China Sea.
“There is no chance that we will open the middle line at this stage. The transit issue had nothing to do with the ban on flights passing across the middle line,” Hsia said.
They did not go into details of what the measures would be.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College