The Yunlin and Kinmen county commissioners have applied to attend the 16th Straits Forum in China, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday, urging them to comply with Taiwan’s regulations on cross-strait exchanges.
The government prohibits personnel from ministries and their affiliated units from attending the Straits Forum, which would be held in China’s Xiamen city on Saturday next week, MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said.
However, the MAC has received applications from the two local government officials — Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Li-shan (張麗善) and Kinmen County Commissioner Chen Fu-hai (陳福海) — seeking to attend the forum, he added.
Photo: Wu Shu-wei, Taipei Times
Chang and Chen are from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party respectively.
“We are not happy to see it [their applications], but the central government will not obstruct it,” Liang said.
From the central government’s perspective, it is not favorable to see personnel from the local governments joining such a forum, he added.
On Thursday evening, Chang said the tense cross-strait relations over the past few years have affected many industries in Taiwan, and that she hoped to promote dialogue and exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait by participating in the forum.
The Yunlin County Government said Chang has reported to the central government according to regulations and received approval, and she would take leave from Friday next week for the two-day trip.
During the trip she would comply with the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) and related regulations, the county government said.
County commissioners or mayors “shall apply for permission to enter into the Mainland Area [China],” with their applications to be reviewed and approved by a committee formed by several ministries and agencies, including the MAC, the act states.
The government’s stance on the forum remains consistent, seeing it as “a platform for united front work by the Chinese Communist Party,” and prohibiting any agencies, individuals, groups, and political parties from joining any form of activities related to the so-called “one country, two systems solution for Taiwan” or “democratic consultation,” Liang said.
Liang urged those who would attend the forum to comply with the act and related regulations, saying they must not engage in illegal cooperation or form alliances with Chinese authorities.
The Straits Forum, an annual conference between China and Taiwan, started in 2009.
Last year’s forum was organized by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) and the government of China’s Fujian Province, in collaboration with 82 cross-strait organizations, according to a press release by the TAO in June last year.
The theme of this year’s forum is “Expanding Civil Exchanges, Deepening Integrated Development,” according to the organizing committee of the 16th Straits Forum, which has said that the event would include four major activities focusing on grassroots activities, youth, cultural and economic exchanges.
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