A student delegation organized by the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation to visit China was castigated by a government official yesterday as undermining the government’s handling of cross-strait relations.
Ma Ying-jeou Foundation CEO Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) on Friday headed a 30-person delegation to China’s Shandong Province, stating that only through exchanges could cross-strait relations be maintained and confrontation avoided.
The 17 measures recently announced by President William Lai (賴清德) were an administrative move that restricted rights and freedoms, and use anti-China ideology to malign the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution, he said, adding that such acts serve only to bring both sides closer to the brink of war.
Photo: Reuters
Hsiao was referring to measures Lai issued following a national security meeting on March 13, which stated that China is a "ostile foreign force" and that China's efforts to infiltrate Taiwanese society and sow division through influence operations had intensified. The measures include reinstating courts martial, tightening requirements for residents from China, Hong Kong, and Macau to obtain Taiwanese identifications, and limiting access to Taiwan for individuals with "United Front backgrounds," among others.
The official yesterday questioned why Ma and his aides had not spoken of China’s daily incursions to intimidate Taiwan, or condemned China when it last year announced 22 guidelines to penalize “die-hard” Taiwanese independence separatists, including the use of the death penalty.
“[Former president] Ma [Ying-jeou (馬英九)] and Hsiao had not mentioned China’s military intimidation against Taiwan, while they organize more cross-strait exchanges to promote peace. They are using students to visit China to carry out Beijing’s propaganda and ‘united front’ ploys. But Ma and Hsiao dared not ask the Chinese government to change their ways, and never asked Beijing to take a more friendly approach toward Taiwan,” the official said.
“Now is a very testing time for cross-strait relations, mainly because China has escalated its military intimidation, taking a hybrid warfare approach to ratchet up tensions against Taiwan. But Ma seems blind to all this. This latest Chinese visit is for Ma to help Beijing gloss over the military tension, to whitewash China’s hostile aggression in the region,” the official added.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious