With regard to the inappropriate statements issued by the spokesperson of the Mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office today (29th) in response to the reinforcement of our military defense capabilities, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) states that these statements issued by the Mainland, which reverse cause and effect, are not of any benefit in improving cross-Strait relations. The MAC points out that the Mainland has recently kept on reiterating that it will never abandon the use of force against Taiwan, and that its trial missile firing and its holding of grand-scale military exercises which are targeted at Taiwan show signs that its intent to prepare militarily for an attack against Taiwan has not at all diminished. Such actions have seriously threatened Taiwan’s national security and regional stability. The Government has no choice but to take the necessary steps to reinforce our defense capabilities to prevent the peaceful status quo from being disrupted. The Mainland authorities cause the tense situation across the Taiwan Strait, and they are not in the proper position to criticize Taiwan for its defense reinforcements.
The MAC points out that based on the statement of the spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office today, the Mainland has not made any clear adjustments to its Taiwan policy. The MAC emphasizes that on the one hand, the Government will still continue to promote peaceful and stable cross-Strait relations in the future; on the other hand, it will work pragmatically to achieve its goals of maintaining Taiwan’s national identity and strengthening its defense capabilities.
With regard to the Mainland’s intention to allow Fujian Province residents to travel to Kinmen and Matsu for sightseeing via the “Mini-Three-Links” route, the MAC states that after three years and nine months of waiting, the Mainland side has finally given the “Mini-Three-Links” scheme a positive affirmation as well as acted in coordination with the related measures. We are pleased to see the success of these developments and also hope that the Mainland authorities will be able to actually show their sincerity toward policy relaxation by allowing the Mainland people to visit Kinmen and Matsu for sightseeing as soon as possible to create favorable conditions for benign cross-Strait interaction and the comprehensive relaxation of allowing Mainland people to come to Taiwan for sightseeing.
The MAC at the same time emphasizes that the Government has recently proposed constructive recommendations to improve cross-Strait relations, including the implementation of cross-Strait chartered flights to enable Taiwanese businessmen to return home during the Chinese Lunar New Year Holidays, hoping that the Mainland side would make careful consideration toward such issues, resume normalized communications and negotiations between both sides of the Strait as soon as possible, and jointly make arrangements with Taiwan for related measures to achieve the goal of a win-win situation across the Strait.