Former premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) was given the green light to visit Shanghai next month to officially open the Taiwan Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo, Executive Yuan spokesman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said yesterday.
Liu is scheduled to visit Shanghai between May 11 and May 16 in his capacity as chairman of the National Cultural Association, an institution funded by the government. Liu’s visit to China has given rise to security concerns, as he only stepped down as premier seven months ago.
Chiang said Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) replied to a query from the Ministry of the Interior on Friday saying that “[since] the purpose of [Liu’s] trip was for cultural exchanges, it was not a matter of national security.”
In light of Wu’s endorsement, it was expected that the ministry, which reviews requests by officials to visit China, would soon convene a joint review board to consider Liu’s application.
Retired senior officials and government personnel who had a security clearance and intend to visit China are required to file an application with the ministry’s National Immigration Agency, which then consults with the agency that employed the applicant, before clearance can be given.
The predecessor to the National Culture Association, the Chinese Cultural Revival Organization, came directly under the Presidential Office.
Wang Chih-kang (王志剛), chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, which organized the Taiwan Pavilion at the World Expo, said on Wednesday that the directive for Liu to preside over the official opening ceremony “came from above.”
Pressed by reporters on whether this meant it came from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Wang declined to comment, but said Liu was the perfect candidate to take part in the ceremony.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
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As Taiwan celebrated its baseball team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 on Sunday, how politicians referred to the team in their congratulatory messages reflected the nation’s political divide. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北隊), made history with its first-ever Premier12 championship after beating Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Right after the game, President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated the team via a post on his Facebook page. Besides the players, Lai also lauded the team’s coaching and medical staff, and the fans cheering for them in Tokyo or watching the live broadcast, saying that “every
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment. The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the