The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) indicated today (13th) that with regard to the import of the pandas to Taiwan, the relevant government agencies have already proposed clear principles to address the issue. It is obvious that the Chinese authorities are presently making repeated attempts at taking advantage of this issue to attain political goals. This will only complicate the issue and will not bring any positive significance to the overall cross-strait relations.
MAC stated that with regard to the import of pandas to Taiwan, the relevant government agencies have indicated that the issue must be addressed from the professional and legal aspects. Overall assessment and consideration must be made under the following four principles: the application must be made by a suitable organization as clearly stipulated in the Wildlife Conservation Act; the applicant must provide excellent feeding environment; the means of transportation to be used to export the pandas to Taiwan must conform to existing regulations; and the import of the pandas must be consistent with the views of international wildlife conservation groups and world opinions. However, China has recently engaged in political tactics by taking advantage of Taiwan’s opposition political parties, causing the nature of the issue to deviate from the professional domain. The pandas are innocent victims and it is also difficult for the Taiwanese government to acknowledge China’s political manipulation.
At the same time, MAC indicated that China has recently announced various relaxation measures targeted at Taiwan according to its overall strategy toward Taiwan. In essence, these measures by China are aimed at achieving its own political interests through creating confrontation and contradiction within Taiwan. China has recently invited Taiwanese people from all sectors to attend a series of activities including the “60th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War,” the “Chinese National Day celebrations,” and the “60th Anniversary of Taiwan’s Retrocession” which has nothing to do with China. These actions have demonstrated that the Chinese authorities have plans to gradually penetrate deeper into Taiwan’s society. The Taiwanese people must exercise the highest vigilance.
Moreover, it was also reported that China’s tourism officials have the intention to visit Taiwan to gain an understanding of Taiwan’s sightseeing spots. MAC indicated that although the responsible Taiwanese government agencies have not received any application related to the visit, Taiwan welcomes any action that will be conducive to the smooth promotion of the visits to Taiwan by Chinese tourists.