Date: December 25, 2019
MAC Press Release No. 100
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held a regular press conference today, during which it slandered recent legal amendments of the Republic of China (ROC) government and groundlessly blamed Taiwan for hindering cross-Strait exchanges. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) solemnly stated that the CCP has accelerated its push for unification and increased its united front infiltration and polarization work in Taiwan, actions of which seriously threaten the security, social order, and normal democratic political functions of Taiwan. The MAC also pointed out that the recent related legal amendments all aim to safeguard Taiwan’s national sovereignty and its free and democratic constitutional government, as well as rectify the order of exchanges; it is the CCP that unilaterally changed the cross-Strait status quo, intentionally undermined benign cross-Strait interactions, and damaged the order of cross-Strait exchanges, and yet, they shirk that responsibility and throw the blame on Taiwan; they are the thief crying “thief”, distorting facts and misleading the public.
The MAC stated that, it is a fact that the CCP is infamous around the world for its serious infiltration and meddling work in Taiwan. The Mainland proposed a "two systems" program for Taiwan under "Xi's five points” at the start of this year; it has taken advantage of Taiwan’s free and open society, and intensified its united front work of polarization and infiltration in Taiwan. These are all actions that seriously threaten the security, social order, and normal democratic political functions of Taiwan. There have also been innumerable attempts of CCP espionage activities infiltrating Taiwan personnel networks and intervening in upcoming elections, cases which have been brought to public scrutiny. The government must take appropriate actions to correspond to the major changes in the cross-Strait situation. The amended laws provide a stronger legal basis for safeguarding democracy and rectifying the order of cross-Strait exchanges.
The MAC stressed that the government encourages and supports legitimate and orderly cross-Strait exchanges. The five approved amendments to national security related acts and the anti-infiltration bill currently under review by the Legislative Yuan are all aimed to prevent infiltration and meddling of hostile external forces; they do not restrict or limit normal exchanges. The MAC explained that amendments to the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area only restrict high-profile retired personnel from engaging in actions that undermine national dignity when participating in major scale Mainland celebrations held by the CCP, it does not restrict or limit participation or engagement in general exchange activities. The CCP's claim that "retired officials and generals are panicked due to the heavy penalties met at every turn and the increased constraints and restrictions on their exchange visits to the Mainland" is a completely unfounded distortion of the truth. The MAC also stressed that there is no concern over law-abiding and regular cross-Strait exchanges. The CCP has repeatedly extended its underhanded political maneuvering into the sphere of cross-Strait exchanges. It has sought to recruit cross-Strait school, teacher, and student exchanges into its united front work, it has urged tourism businesses to forge documents to help foreign parties apply for entry into Taiwan, and it has also engaged in "red infiltration" to co-opt Taiwan's media to support its political propaganda or spread misinformation; these are the real factors detrimenting the order of cross-Strait exchanges.
The MAC reiterated that the anti-infiltration bill is aimed, in the least and only necessary areas, to supplement the insufficiency of existing regulations in five illegal infiltration activities (illegal political donations, illegal canvassing, illegal lobbying, sabotaging assembly and demonstration activities and detrimenting social order, and spreading misinformation to interfere with elections). The bill does not target specific parties or positions, does not apply to normal cross-Strait exchanges, and does not affect regular business, work, life, or study of Taiwanese businesspeople, managers, teachers, and students. The CCP’s nonsensical accusation of the “green terror" administration’s anti-infiltration bill "depriving Taiwanese businesspeople the comfort of working at ease or returning home in peace,",is pure malicious and patently ill-intentioned discourse set to polarize and divide Taiwan.
The MAC pointed out that, the CCP has never renounced annexing Taiwan by military force. It has first unilaterally changed the cross-Strait status quo; then employ double-dealing tactics toward Taiwan, where on one hand it underhandedly infiltrates and undermines Taiwan's security and meddles with Taiwan's free and democractic operations, and on the other hand gives Taiwan sugar-coated “equal treatment” pills, which are in truth poisonous united front tactics. These actions are the culprits dividing Taiwanese society, creating cross-Strait hostility, and undermining cross-Strait exchanges. The MAC stressed that in the face of CCP’s steadily advancing annexation attempts and united front infiltration threats, the government will continue to take necessary countermeasures to firmly safeguard national sovereignty, maintain the free and democratic constitutional order, and ensure the survival and development of the 23 million Taiwanese people