Several Chinese reporters from state-run media outlets unexpectedly took the limelight yesterday after they appeared at a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) press conference on agricultural exports.
The council announced on Sunday that it would temporarily bar China's state-controlled Xinhua News Agency and People's Daily from posting new journalists to Taiwan, citing distorted information carried in their reports and the negative impact the reports had on cross-strait relations.
The Chinese became the focus of attention when they arrived at the press conference and local reporters began questioning them.
PHOTO: CHEN CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Xinhua reporter Zhao Danping (趙丹平) aired her grievances on TV yesterday, saying that the council's decision had caused problems.
"This has already become a great difficulty for me and I've had to change my scheduled interviews; people said they couldn't take my interviews anymore," Zhao said. "I feel wronged and I'm the innocent party."
Council Vice ChairmanYou Ying-lung (游盈隆) agreed that the reporters were not to blame, saying that the council was "very clear as to where the problem had occurred."
"Taiwan is a democratic society and China is an authoritarian society, so we can't blame the reporters for a lot of things. But we need to consider our national interest in this," You said, indicating that the ban could be lifted if MAC felt that improvements had been made.
Five Chinese media outlets are allowed to send reporters to this country, and they rotate their journalists here each month. The ban on new journalists from Xinhua News Agency and the People's Daily will take effect when their current reporters rotate out next month.
Meanwhile, the council warned yesterday that Beijing's invitation to cooperate on agricultural trade was just to complement its recent "Anti-Secession" Law.
Pointing to China's agricultural difficulties, You said that China's move to increase its agricultural imports from Taiwan would only benefit Taiwanese farmers in the short term.
"The council urges everyone to recognize the goal of the `non-peaceful' means sanctioned in the Anti-Secession Law so they do not fall victim to China's malicious and hypocritical strategies," You said, reading from a statement.
You said that if the circumstances of China's agricultural environment improved, Taiwan would be willing to share its experiences with agricultural development with Beijing at a few locations.
It was not immediately clear why the council held its press conference yesterday. But a high-level government official said that the council expects Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) will touch on agricultural issues during its press conference today. The TAO moved its regular Thursday press conference ahead by one day.
The official said that Beijing's move to increase its agricultural imports from Taiwan was clearly part of its political strategy.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS