The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is to impose stricter auditing during the approvals process for Taitung County Commissioner Yao Ching-ling’s (饒慶鈴) proposed China visits, after she failed to disclose her meeting with Chinese Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤) last month, a council official said yesterday.
In her submitted itinerary to the MAC for her Jan. 4 to 9 trip, Yao, a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), only listed travel to Beijing on the first day, promoting agricultural goods at a fair on Jan. 5, visiting companies and commercial markets on Jan. 6, before heading to Shanghai for business meetings for the following two days, before returning to Taiwan on Jan. 9.
Yao’s itinerary did not list any meeting with Song, which took place on Jan. 4 at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
Photo: CNA
During their meeting, media quoted Song as saying: “We are from the same family on both sides, and must insist on upholding the 1992 consensus and oppose Taiwan independence.”
Yao was quoted as thanking the Chinese government for restoring imports of custard apples from Taitung, adding that “peaceful development could be based on the 1992 consensus and opposition to Taiwan independence.”
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
The MAC said the Act Governing Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates county commissioners and city mayors, as well as civil officials of certain ranks, must file an application when planning to visit China, and list meetings with any government representatives holding a position in the CCP.
The MAC would impose stricter auditing when Yao applies for trips to China, and might not grant approval next time, a MAC official said on the condition of anonymity.
Yao yesterday said the visit was to promote improved interactions, and to boost fruit sales for farmers in Taitung, adding that “the visit fully complied with my conscience, with our government and it was for the benefit of Taitung’s farmers.”
Additional reporting by Liu Jen-wei
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