A slew of trade deals negotiated by Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to sell NT$5.2 billion (US$168.5 million) worth of Taiwanese agricultural products to cities in southern China is under Beijing’s direct control, a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The Chinese-language Sing Pao Daily News reported that the deals were negotiated through Chinese state-owned enterprises, and that they fell under the supervision of China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
A deal negotiated in Hong Kong also falls under Beijing’s control, as it was handled through the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong and Macau, the report said.
Han last week visited Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen and Xiamen to negotiate trade deals.
At a news conference on Tuesday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) praised Han’s trip for making achievements in the areas of trade, education and cultural exchanges, tourism and the establishment of mechanisms for cross-strait interactions.
TAO spokesman An Fengshan (安峰山) said the achievements were the embodiment of the concept that “both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one family.”
“This demonstrates that on the foundation of persisting with the ‘1992 consensus,’ there are vast prospects for cities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” An said, adding that he “welcomes the strengthening of city-to-city exchanges on this foundation.”
However, Sing Pao said that Han’s deal in Hong Kong was facilitated through the Hong Kong Liaison Office and made with a company under the supervision of Beijing using the Fujian Provincial Government as a proxy.
The deal in Shenzhen was made with a firm that is the city government’s sole appointed wholesaler of “grade A” agricultural products, it said, adding it was made under China’s National Development and Reform Commission.
“It is clear that the deals Han Kuo-yu reaped on his trip to China were gifts from the Chinese Communist Party [CCP],” the report said.
The report implied that Beijing intended to raise Han’s stature in Taiwan, thereby securing his victory should he run in next year’s presidential election.
One unnamed analyst said that, while Han’s deals look good on paper, Taiwan’s produce market is already overly reliant on China.
About 97 percent of exported Golden Diamond brand pineapples are sold to China and Beijing can control the fruit’s price, the analyst said.
The so-called “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the CCP that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
FLU CONTINUES: Hospitals reported 101,091 visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while 68 severe cases and 16 flu-related deaths were also reported, the CDC said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 932 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and 64 related deaths for last week, adding that the number of people who had contracted new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants KP.2 and LB.1 has increased. The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 increased from 815 in the previous week to 932 last week, while 90 percent of the 64 deceased were aged 65 or older, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. JN.1 was still the dominant variant among local and imported cases in the past four weeks, while KP.2 was the second-most common, Lin said. Cases with the LB.1 subvariant