| Subjects: |
- Mainland China should have the courage to face universal values of democratic societies and properly handle divergent voices of the people
- Politically appointed officials may, after gaining approval, visit mainland China to engage in officially relevant activities under the principle of equality
- The MOJ is the main liaison body and agency responsible for dealing with the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement
- The FSC is actively discussing with the Mainland side about the handling of the MOU
- The delegation of mainland China’s Ministry of Commerce will be headed by officials at the deputy director level
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MAC Regular Press Briefing
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Briefer : Johnnason Liu, Deputy Minister
Date : June 25, 2009
Location : Taipei |
STATESMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: The Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, the Cross-Strait Financial Cooperation Agreement, and the Cross-Strait Air Transport Supplementary Agreement signed at the third Chiang-Chen Talks were all affirmed yesterday (24th) by the Straits Exchange Foundation and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait. In addition, relevant agencies of the ROC side have completed the preparations for accompanying measures. As a result, the effective date of these three agreements has been affirmed as June 25.
Chairman Chiang is scheduled to travel to Sichuan in mid-July. If there is no difficulty in arranging my itinerary, I will be accompanying Chairman Chiang to get an understanding of how Taiwan's NT$ 1.2 billion worth of donations for Sichuan earthquake relief has been utilized. This trip is chiefly for the purpose of understanding disaster area reconstruction and the business circumstances of Taiwan businessmen following this reconstruction. The trip is unrelated to the discussion on the issue of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Mainland China should have the courage to face universal values of democratic societies and properly handle divergent voices of the people
QUESTION: What is the MAC's view of the arrest of the mainland Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo by Mainland authorities?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: People of every country and every society will express their opinions or recommend improvement approaches regarding the development of their countries and their respective government’s policy implementation. In this process, the views of some people will be in step with those of the government, while the views of others will be in conflict with those of the government. This is an inevitable phenomenon in a democratic society. Mainland China should fully understand that human rights are universal values. And we hope universal values of this kind can be respected and implemented in the development of democratic societies. Mainland China should have the courage to face this issue and properly handle divergent voices of the people.
QUESTION: The U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, recently stated that since the Tiananmen Incident, the human rights situation in the Mainland has not progressed one inch. Given this, does it mean that the appeals previously launched by the Taiwan government to urge mainland China to protect human rights and Taiwan’s promotion of the idea of freedom and democracy have been totally ineffective?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: In the process of implementing human rights protection, the greatest and most positive improvement can only be accomplished if one’s own country and one’s own government has the courage to confront the issue. Aside from this, other countries can only express their care and concern or extend their support. We believe that after having understood the concerns expressed by all the countries in the international community over this incident, mainland China will handle this case in a more prudent and proper manner.
Politically appointed officials may, after gaining approval, visit mainland China to engage in officially relevant activities under the principle of equality
QUESTION: With regard to politically appointed officials traveling to mainland China, are there laws and regulations that prohibit them from visiting Mainland ministries or from engaging in exchange activities? Has the MAC explicitly said or hinted that this sort of activity is not appropriate?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: In the past, when politically appointed officials traveled to mainland China they were only able to engage in activities held by international organizations or participate in international conferences. After the new government came into office, it made some adjustments to the relevant laws and regulations. As long as an activity was related to administrative tasks under a person's responsibilities, he or she could travel to the Mainland Area after receiving permission from the Ministry of the Interior and subsequent approval by the Executive Yuan. Currently, in addition to the MOI permit regulations, there are no other laws or regulations on this. The MAC hopes that travel to the Mainland Area by politically appointed officials is aimed at dealing with matters related to their responsibilities and that when these persons are interacting with Mainland central ministerial personnel they will be able to abide by the principle of equality. Aside from this, the MAC has no other standards or opinions.
The MOJ is the main liaison body and agency responsible for dealing with the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement
QUESTION: After the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement goes into effect, where can family members go in case they need to petition for a “transfer of prisoner” or need to travel to the Mainland to visit a prisoner?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: The responsible authority for “humanitarian visits” on our side is the Ministry of Justice. People who have a need for this should petition that ministry. After the Ministry of Justice gets a better understanding of the case, it will contact the Mainland side in accordance with the Agreement so as to provide Taiwanese family members with relevant assistance. “Transfer” is an issue that resides with the judicial system. Because it involves court decisions, it must be handled via the judicial system. With regard to whether the courts will first accept action or whether a suit shall be first brought via prosecutors and investigators, this decision must await further understanding. If people cannot find a service window to go to right now, they can first consult the MOJ directly because the MOJ is the main liaison body dealing with the agreement, and it is the counterpart of the Mainland's pertinent authorities—including the Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Supreme People’s Court and the Ministry of Justice.
The FSC is actively discussing with the Mainland side about the handling of the MOU
QUESTION: Lee Jih-chu, deputy minister of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), said yesterday (24th) the financial part of the cross-strait financial cooperation is largely finished but that a decision on the non-financial part must wait until after the relevant conference is held by the MAC. In fact, what actually is the current status with regard to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)? Will the MAC call a coordination meeting?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: According to the FSC, it is already in active talks with the Mainland side and is dealing with the MOU. As for exactly how they will deal with it, we believe they will discuss this in the course of their talks. There is no way clearly to distinguish the professional and the non-professional aspects. When discussing overall financial mechanisms, they should fully exchange views and talk about the overall picture. Only in this way will the mechanisms they create be able to provide relatively complete information. There is no need to make a division between professional and non-professional aspects and handle them separately.
The delegation of mainland China’s Ministry of Commerce will be headed by officials at the deputy director level
QUESTION: Has mainland Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming applied to visit Taiwan?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: The second delegation from mainland China’s Ministry of Commerce may visit Taiwan but at the present time we note that the delegation will be headed by officials at the deputy director level. No application has been made by Minister Chen Deming.