Beijing’s guidelines banning Chinese media from using the name “Republic of China (ROC)” — Taiwan’s official title — is “overkill,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said yesterday.
“The ROC’s existence is an established fact... If even the term ‘ROC’ is to be censored, I doubt there is a better way [to refer to the nation],” Lin said in response to media queries for comments.
In a move intended to increase pressure on Taiwan, China’s official Xinhua news agency published a set of guidelines for Chinese media when referring to Taiwanese authorities, including a ban on using the Taiwanese version of the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
The list also bans Chinese media from using the term “president/vice president of the ROC,” instead instructing them to use “leader/deputy leader of the Taiwan authorities.”
Chinese media are also forbidden from saying “Taiwan presidential election” and are required to describe such events as “leadership elections in the Taiwan area” or “Taiwan’s general election.”
Even the use of the phrase “Taiwan government” is not allowed, as is any reference to Taiwanese governmental agencies at the “national” or “central government” level, the Xinhua list says.
Banning the terms would make it more difficult for Taiwan and China to arrive at any sort of consensus, Lin said, calling on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to increase the level of goodwill toward each other to meet people’s expectations for cross-strait rapport and security.
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister and spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) on Thursday urged the Chinese media to “fully report reality and respect the fact that the ROC exists.”
“Beijing is suppressing and manipulating freedom of the press and severely restricting the rights of Chinese” by prohibiting the Chinese media from using terms that depict the facts, Chiu said.
By banning so many terms, China is drawing attention to its inability to objectively and practically view the real cross-strait situation, he added.
“Such a policy reflects the Chinese leadership’s intransigent thinking and inclination to create an impasse, which will widen the knowledge gap between Taiwan and China and deter mutual understanding,” Chiu said.
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