Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday attended a session organized by the National Immigration Agency (NIA) regarding comments denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty made by one of the Chinese students that his foundation had invited to visit Taiwan last year.
During an interview on Feb.1 last year, Song Siyao (宋思瑤), a student from Shanghai’s Fudan University, referred to Taiwan’s national baseball team as “China, Taipei” (中國台北隊) when congratulating them for winning the Premier12 championship.
She also said that “Taiwanese compatriots should continue to work for the motherland.”
Photo: CNA
“The term ‘China, Taipei’ is commonly used by people in China,” Ma told reporters before entering the NIA headquarters in Taipei.
“All Taiwanese would agree that Song did not have a malicious intent when making that comment, and that she was simply offering a sincere congratulation to our national baseball team for winning the championship. I believe that President William Lai (賴清德) would not fight over a trifling comment with a 20-year-old female student from China,” Ma said.
Ma also expressed the hope that the Lai administration would spare the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation from any administrative punishment or no group from the private sector would dare invite Chinese groups and individuals to visit Taiwan anymore. This would seriously impede cross-strait exchanges, which could hurt Taiwan, he said.
The Mainland Affairs Council at a news conference in Taipei last year said that it is planning to impose an administrative penalty on the foundation for Song’s comments, adding that the foundation could be banned from hosting cross-strait exchanges from six months to five years.
The foundation would be held accountable, not the student, the council said yesterday, adding that the penalty would be determined following an interagency meeting.
The Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the NIA, said that it has been following the Administrative Procedure Act (行政程序法) when asking the foundation to provide an explanation regarding the case.
Other than submitting a written statement, the foundation requested to have someone from the foundation make a verbal explanation, the NIA said.
“Any cross-strait exchange should proceed based on mutual respect, and principles of equality and dignity. This would ensure that cross-strait exchanges would continue in a healthy and orderly manner. Actions and comments that denigrate Taiwan as a sovereign nation are prohibited. Both the Chinese and organizations that invite them should follow government regulations,” the ministry said.
Because of the controversy sparked by Song’s comment, students at National Taiwan University’s College of Social Sciences replaced the student council president surnamed Kuo (郭), who hosted the Chinese students invited by the foundation when they toured the campus.
ACTION PLAN: Taiwan would expand procurement from the US and encourage more companies to invest in the US to deepen bilateral cooperation, Lai said The government would not impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation against US levies, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he announced five strategies to address the issue, including pledging to increase Taiwanese companies’ investments in the US. Lai has in the past few days met with administrative and national security officials, as well as representatives from various industries, to explore countermeasures after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday last week announced a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese imports. In a video released yesterday evening, Lai said that Taiwan would not retaliate against the US with higher tariffs and Taiwanese companies’ commitments to
‘SPECIAL CHANNEL’: Taipei’s most important tasks are to stabilize industries affected by Trump’s trade tariffs and keep negotiations with Washington open, a source said National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) arrived in the US for talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Wu was leading a delegation for a meeting known as the “special channel,” the Financial Times reported earlier. It marked Trump’s first use of the channel since returning to the White House on Jan. 20. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) was also a part of the delegation. The visit came days after China concluded war games around Taiwan and amid Trump’s
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
HELPING HAND: The steering committee of the National Stabilization Fund is expected to hold a meeting to discuss how and when to utilize the fund to help buffer the sell-off The TAIEX plunged 2,065.87 points, or 9.7 percent, to close at 19,232.35 yesterday, the highest single-day percentage loss on record, as investors braced for US President Donald Trump’s tariffs after an extended holiday weekend. Amid the pessimistic atmosphere, 945 listed companies led by large-cap stocks — including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and Largan Precision Co (大立光) — fell by the daily maximum of 10 percent at the close, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. The number of listed companies ending limit-down set a new record, the exchange said. The TAIEX plunged by daily maxiumu in just
RSS