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- The MAC takes a positive view of Taiwan-Hong Kong interaction
- Concrete plans on follow-up matters regarding Mainland capital investment in Taiwan must wait for both sides to complete negotiations on the topic
- Both sides of the Strait are likely to begin procedural and preparatory consultations in mid-April for the Third Chiang-Chen Talks
- The MAC will actively communicate with the Legislative Yuan and hopes that the three draft amendment concerning the rights and interests of Mainland spouses and other issues can be passed during the current session
- The government has a positive attitude toward cross-strait professional exchanges and has taken accompanying measures to deal with the visit of the Snow Dragon to Taiwan
- The scope of control over cross-strait personnel exchanges only applies to government officials themselves and does not extend to their spouses
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MAC Regular Press Briefing
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Briefer : Johnnason Liu, Deputy Minister
Date : April 2, 2009
Location : Taipei |
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
The MAC takes a positive view of Taiwan-Hong Kong interaction
QUESTION: On April 1 when HKSAR Chief Executive Donald Tsang met Taoyuan County Magistrate Eric Chu, he mentioned he would like to visit Taiwan during his tenure of office. What preparations has the MAC made for Tsang's visit? In what capacity will he make the visit?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: The MAC will take a positive view of Taiwan-Hong Kong interaction. More communications and contacts will benefit cross-strait relations and Taiwan-Hong Kong relations. There is still abundant room for efforts in this area by the Hong Kong SAR government and we look forward to even more positive action. As long as the Hong Kong government is able to develop positive plans that advance Taiwan-Hong Kong relations, we believe that a visit to Taiwan by officials at any level will produce positive results in Taiwan-Hong Kong relations.
Concrete plans on follow-up matters regarding Mainland capital investment in Taiwan must wait for both sides to complete negotiations on the topic
QUESTION: When will accompanying measures be in place for Mainland capital to advertise in Taiwan? What revisions and adjustments will be made?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: We'll have to wait until discussions between the two sides on Mainland capital coming to Taiwan are a little more concrete before there can be any follow-up issues that involve advertising. Right now we're not yet at the stage where we can discuss the issue concretely.
QUESTION: It is being reported that the Mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office and Ministry of Commerce are preparing to organize a “State-run Industry Inspection Team” to visit Taiwan following the Chiang-Chen Talks. What plans does the MAC have for this?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: Since we have no concrete plans on this yet, I can't give you a further explanation.
Both sides of the Strait are likely to begin procedural and preparatory consultations in mid-April for the Third Chiang-Chen Talks.
QUESTION: How are negotiations coming along on the timing, venue and agenda for the third Chiang-Chen Talks?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU:
■ The SEF-ARATS consensus is that the Third Chiang-Chen Talks will take place during the first half of the year. The exact timing will be set in accordance with the progress of the negotiations. After discussing operational issues, the two sides can make arrangements for the Third Chiang-Chen Talks and preparatory consultations. At the moment, the communication about operational matters is still underway. If things go smoothly, we wouldn't rule out the possibility of starting the procedural and preparatory consultations around mid-April to arrange the time, venue and matters related to the signing of the agreements for the third talks. With regard to the selection of venue, during the Second Chiang-Chen Talks there was discussion about this third meeting being able to take place in an area except Beijing. But the exact time and venue of the talks must await further consultations between the SEF and the ARATS before they can be confirmed.
■ Issues to be negotiated during the Third Chiang-Chen Talks include: joint crime-fighting and mutual judicial assistance, regular flights, financial cooperation and Mainland capital investment in Taiwan. Currently, the two sides are proceeding with communication on operational matters (involving various forms of communication and liaison by specialized units), and a certain level of consensus has been achieved.
■ In the area of joint crime-fighting and mutual judicial assistance, judicial liaison and assistance mechanisms in civil and criminal matters will be established, while a normalized cooperation mechanism will be set up focusing on fighting against various types of crime, cooperation in investigations, exchange of information and repatriation of criminals, in order to safeguard the rights and interests of the people on both sides of the Strait and to increase efficiency in handling judicial cases. Communication between both sides on this topic has proceeded very smoothly and there should be no difficulty in coming to an agreement.
■ Negotiations on regular flight services focus on normalizing cross-strait air transport services based on the current weekday charter flight services, as well as making accompanying arrangements for optimizing flight paths and expanding the number of flights and flight points to comprehensively upgrade air transport efficiency and quality of services. Progress on this issue has been relatively slow due to the longer time required by the Mainland side to consolidate its internal views. Consequently, some key questions are awaiting breakthroughs.
■ Regarding cross-strait financial cooperation, the two sides have engaged in communications about operational matters that are related to the original four sub-issues, including: the signing of three MOUs on supervision and management in the banking industry, securities and futures industry and insurance industry; and the currency exchange issues related to the supply of the renminbi and a currency settlement mechanism. Due to the highly technological nature of the three MOUs and because of the different demands of the various industries, plus the very broad scope of financial cooperation, after deliberation between the two sides, the future arrangement will be for the SEF and the ARATS to sign an overall financial cooperation agreement. Sections common to all three MOUs, along with the currency exchange and other financial cooperation items, will be included within the scope of the agreement. In addition, the financial supervisory agencies responsible for each of the banking, securities, futures, and insurance industries will be entrusted to further arrange the details of the supervision and management cooperation and follow-up signing of the three MOUs. Through this type of tiered arrangement, it should be more possible to meet the specific needs of all the various financial management agencies.
■ On Mainland capital investment in Taiwan, emphasis will be placed on communication and dialogue on the policies, laws and regulations, the approach to deregulation and investment items, and other aspects related to easing restrictions on Mainland investment in Taiwan's manufacturing industry, service industry, the i-Taiwan 12 Projects and real estate. After exchange of views, both sides have expressed a high level of interest in promoting Mainland investment in Taiwan. The Mainland side will also organize a delegation to pay an inspection visit to Taiwan. In addition, through follow-up arrangements, Taiwan will gradually open up to Mainland investment so as to inject new momentum into Taiwan’s economy.
The MAC will actively engage the Legislative Yuan in discussion and hopes that the three draft amendments concerning the rights and interests of Mainland spouses and other issues can be passed during the current session.
QUESTION: What is the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) view on the draft revision of the regulations governing Mainland spouses? How will the MAC communicate with the DPP? When do you estimate the revised provisions will be passed?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU:
■ Three of the top-priority bills the Executive Yuan sent to the Legislative Yuan involved the Act Governing Relations Between People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”). The first one was the revisions concerning the issue of a time period for Mainland spouses to obtain an ID card, the right to work and the right of inheritance. The second one was an amendment to provisions concerning Mainland students coming to study in Taiwan. The third one was an amendment to provisions of Article 25 of the Act concerning reciprocal tax exemptions.
■ During the legislative process for these three draft amendments on March 31, the legislative caucus of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party proposed a reconsideration of the amendments concerning Mainland spouses and Mainland students studying in Taiwan, thus making it impossible for a review by the Legislative Yuan's Internal Administration Committee to take place on time.
■ We are extremely concerned about this and will intensify our communication with the Legislative Yuan. We hope the opposition party can understand that Mainland spouses are the mothers of Taiwan children, that they are a part of a Taiwan family and play an important role in Taiwan society. We want to look at this from a positive standpoint and see the positive benefits that Mainland spouses bring to Taiwan society. We hope the three draft amendments concerning the rights and interests of Mainland spouses and other issues will be able to win everyone's support, that it will be put on the agenda for discussion as soon as possible and that it will be passed during the current session.
The government has a positive attitude toward cross-strait professional exchanges and has taken accompanying measures to deal with the visit of the Snow Dragon to Taiwan.
QUESTION: The Snow Dragon arrived in Kaohsiung on April 1. What is the position of the MAC regarding the first joint expedition to Antarctica by researchers of both sides across the Strait?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU:
When application was made for this project, the government paid very close attention to it and there were discussions regarding personnel and the ship. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications believed that the arrival of the ship in Taiwan involved some factors that had to be dealt with through bilateral discussion. Following joint handling of related matters by the inviter and the invitee, the competent authority also took relevant steps that contributed to the smooth arrival of the Snow Dragon in Taiwan. We believe this voyage will be conducive to cross-strait professional exchanges in oceanic sciences. In terms of government policy, there is a positive attitude toward professional exchanges. As for the rest, the MAC is not in a position to comment.
The scope of control over cross-strait personnel exchanges only applies to government officials themselves and does not extend to their spouses.
QUESTION: Chen Yueh-ching, the wife of the National Security Council Secretary General, is visiting mainland China. Are there any stipulations governing spouses of specifically appointed officials in accordance with the relevant regulations and laws. After this event, will the MAC consider amending the law to impose restrictions on the private travel of spouses of specifically appointed officials? Did Chen Yueh-ching report to the MAC before she left for mainland China?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU:
■ Since the aforementioned Act became law in 1992, civilian personnel exchanges across the Strait have been considered on a demand basis. Thus legislators and teachers have never been listed as being subject to personnel exchanges.
■ The government has a positive attitude toward personnel exchanges across the Strait. The scope of control is imposed on government employees and by no means extends to their spouses. Furthermore, the husband-wife relationship as stipulated in the civil law is characterized by separate and independent rights and duties. In handling ownership of property, there are also a number of ownership models to choose from. Thus in the shared life of husband and wife, the relationship is finely interwoven; however, in terms of public law, the couple enjoys their respective, independent rights and interests in their marital relationship.
■ When it comes to the official tasks performed by civil servants, whether according to the laws or in the training process, we have repeatedly warned that they must be responsible for the official duties facing them. Thus in face of their family members, we believe that civil servants will stand at their posts in line with their official responsibilities.
■ With regard to the question of whether Chen Yueh-ching ever reported to the MAC prior to her departure for mainland China, it is the National Immigration Agency that is the authority responsible for controlling the officials’ entry into and exit from the country.