The Executive Yuan has drafted an amendment to extend the period during which retired generals would be prohibited from traveling to China in an apparent response to two retired generals praising Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at a political event in China last year.
The Executive Yuan on Thursday said it has drafted an amendment to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) to extend the period during which former generals, mayors, science officials and intelligence officers must obtain Ministry of the Interior approval before they can travel to China to 15 years from three years.
The proposed amendment aims to prevent retired government and military officials from attending events in China that could unduly assert Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan, the Executive Yuan said.
Photo: CNA
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) official People’s Daily on Jan. 29 reported that two retired Taiwanese generals, Huang Shing-chiang (黃幸強) and Chen Ting-chung (陳廷寵) in December last year attended the Cross-Strait Generals Forum in Xiamen in China’s Fujian Province.
The report was written by former Chinese-language People’s Liberation Army Daily president Huang Guozhu (黃國柱) and was titled: “Look over here, Taiwanese generals: Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Message to Compatriots in Taiwan.”
At the event, Taiwanese generals discussed “reform and liberalization to jointly pursue development” with their Chinese counterparts, sang the Chinese national anthem and joined others in issuing an “initiative for peaceful unification,” the report said.
The generals also praised the “five points” that Xi mentioned in an address on Jan. 2, it said.
The paper quoted them as saying that China’s transformation to a more liberal economy has brought “tremendous benefits” to Chinese and Taiwanese, and that they endorsed the so-called “1992 consensus” and Beijing’s “one China” principle.
Huang was quoted as saying that “the hope of cross-strait unification must not evaporate. This is our shared goal as Chinese and members of the Zhonghua minzu [Chinese ethnic group, 中華民族].”
“When the development of Chinese culture reaches its climax, our nation shall be at its most powerful. Turning one’s back on Chinese culture would be forcing one’s self into oblivion,” Chen said, according to the report.
When reached for comment, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) on Saturday said that soldiers have a duty to protect the nation, so if they ingratiate themselves with China, it would defeat the purpose of having a military.
Retired generals who ingratiate themselves with China do not deserve a pension, he added.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted to making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the CCP that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
RSS