The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it welcomes local-level interaction across the Taiwan Strait, pledging to facilitate exchanges of views between the council and local government heads to promote amicable ties.
In a press release yesterday, the council said that improving interactions with local governments to forge consensuses has been a significant part of its effort to promote relations across the Taiwan Strait.
“In a bid to gain a better understanding of local governments’ views regarding cross-strait ties, MAC Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) and officials have visited the leaders of local governments, including Tainan and Taoyuan cities, as well as Nantou, Hualien and Hsinchu counties, since July,” the council said.
The purpose of the visits was to exchange opinions with local heads on the issue of cross-strait interactions and explain the central government’s policies, the council said, adding that more such visits would be conducted.
The council made the remarks amid speculation that recent visits by high-level council officials were meant to target the eight pan-blue local government heads who went to Beijing last month offering their acceptance of the so-called “1992 consensus” in exchange for preferential tourism treatment by China.
The delegation, consisting of six Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and two independent local government heads, met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Yu Zhengsheng (俞正聲) and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) during the visit to discuss tourism and trade-related issues.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former MAC chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted that he made up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and Beijing that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) refusal to recognize the “1992 consensus” has been met with several punitive measures from Beijing, including the suspension of official cross-strait communications and a reduction in the number of Chinese tourists allowed to visit Taiwan.
Stressing that the government has a positive attitude toward cross-strait interactions at the local government level, the council said it values suggestions made by local governments and that it has paid attention to the problems they face promoting cross-strait exchanges.
“Based on the existing foundation, we intend to bolster interactions and cooperation with various local governments, while joining hands with them to facilitate stable and peaceful development of cross-strait relations and improving the welfare of the people,” the council said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS