The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said that Beijing was spouting futile propaganda after Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Huning (王滬寧) unveiled a plan to transform China’s Fujian Province into a showcase zone for “Taiwan’s economic integration into China.”
Wang made the remarks at the Straits Forum in Xiamen earlier in the day.
The MAC said the CCP has long used the forum to push its “united front” agenda against Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of the KMT
Beijing’s ignorance of Taiwanese aspirations and its constant belittlement of the nation renders its propaganda campaign an exercise in futility, the council said.
China would be better served to halt its menacing military drills and display honest goodwill than wasting money and labor on ritualistic propaganda events to which Taiwanese are indifferent, it said.
Beijing can make a positive contribution to cross-strait relations by lifting restrictions on Chinese visiting or studying in Taiwan, the council said, adding that they would benefit from experiencing democracy and freedom.
The Straits Forum, an annual conference between China and Taiwan, started in 2009 with the aim of promoting grassroots interactions, economic and trade exchanges, and cultural integration.
Among those who attended this year’s forum were a delegation led by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) and Chang Kai-chun (張凱鈞), chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party’s Taiwanese Businesspeople Affairs Committee.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said in a statement that the forum’s goal “to work together in realizing the goal of peacefully uniting the motherland” clearly states its intentions to bring about unification.
The forum is nothing but a large-scale “united front” rhetoric platform, the statement said.
The CCP claims it is initiating dialogue and trying to work with Taiwan, but it is also stepping up its military threats against Taiwan, the DPP said, adding that the strategy did not foster healthy and orderly interactions.
Hsia and Chang should be on the alert for Chinese political machinations, and must not inadvertently harm Taiwan’s interests and dignity, the DPP added.
Additional reporting by Chen Cheng-yu
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