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- With regard to mainland China’s positive response to the ECFA, the government will be pleased to see it succeed
- The government will continue to strengthen communication with various sectors of society to forge consensus on the ECFA issue
- With regard to messages about the Mainland’s purchasing missions that will come to Taiwan during the latter half of this year, we will make explanations after the Mainland side files applications
- With regard to a Mainland delegation member entering the military base to take photos, the MAC respects the relevant agencies’ handling of the case
- With the approaching 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Incident, thegovernment will issue a statement at that time
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MAC Regular Press Briefing
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Briefer : Johnnason Liu, Deputy Minister
Date : May 27, 2009
Location : Taipei |
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
With regard to mainland China’s positive response to the ECFA, the government will be pleased to see it succeed
QUESTION: Yesterday at the Wu-Hu meeting, Hu Jintao mentioned that he hoped both sides could negotiate on the ECFA in the latter half of the year. What is the MAC's comment on this? Is there a possibility that both sides will resume talks around the end of September and the beginning of October?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU:
■ During the “Wu-Hu meeting” held yesterday, Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made remarks that he hoped both sides could begin discussing the “Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement” (ECFA) during the latter half of the year. With regard to mainland China’s positive response to the ECFA, the MAC will be pleased to see it succeed.
■ Because the ECFA is in the interests of both sides and at this “Wu-Hu meeting” both sides forged a deeper consensus on the issue, the relevant government agencies on our side will actively make preparations to facilitate the opening of negotiations as soon as possible. We hope that an agreement will be signed no later than next year.
■ For some time past the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has been actively evaluating the situation and has exchanged views with various domestic industries. As such, the MOEA has said that by the end of September there will be some preliminary results. In principle, after each side has completed its preparations, an exchange of views could begin at any time.
QUESTION: This time the Mainland side gave Wu Poh-hsiung a high-profile reception. Does this have a crowding-out effect on the MAC?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: Cross-strait institutionalized negotiations will soon take place for a fourth time. The role played by these negotiations is very clear. As for communication channels similar to that of the Wu-Hu meeting, if they are of benefit to future cross-strait policy or negotiations, the government will be pleased to see them succeed.
The government will continue to strengthen communication with various sectors of society to forge consensus on the ECFA issue
QUESTION: Chiang Pin-kung said he hopes the government would strengthen communications with various sectors of society on the ECFA issue. Does the MAC have such plans?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: The MOEA has already held many symposia explaining the issue to industries, scholars and experts. The MAC has also held symposia in southern and central Taiwan where it invited local entrepreneurs and groups to hold informal discussions. These kinds of communications will be continually carried out. According to the schedule, the MOEA will complete its assessment at the end of September. However, the government will continue to reinforce the publicity campaign and raise the public's understanding of the issue. Due to the fact that once the assessment is finished, things will become more concrete and complete. And then, the explanations made at that point will produce even greater effects.
With regard to messages about the Mainland’s purchasing missions that will come to Taiwan during the latter half of this year, we will make explanations after the Mainland side files applications
QUESTION: It has been pointed out that from May to September this year there will be seven purchasing missions coming to Taiwan. Can you tell us if the application process has been completed? What is the ranking of the members of these missions? A few days ago the Guangxi mission said it welcomed Taiwan entrepreneurs to invest there. What is the government's response?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU:
■ With regard to media reports on purchasing missions, we'll have to wait until after they have submitted related applications before we can comment.
■ Economic and trade activities are conducted with a view to building a better mutual understanding and creating a basis for mutual trust through exchanges between both sides, thus benefiting follow-up economic and trade exchanges. The previous three rounds of Chiang-Chen talks have facilitated and standardized cross-strait economic and trade exchangers in many ways, including charter flights, regular flights and financial cooperation. In the process of bilateral economic and trade exchanges there are some activities that are hard to define. The categorization of these activities based on their nature awaits further discussions among the relevant authorities.
With regard to a Mainland delegation member entering the military base to take photos, the MAC respects the relevant agencies’ handling of the case
QUESTION: A Mainland tourist entered a military command site to take pictures without permission. Will the MAC take disciplinary action against this person?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU:
■ This Mainland person named Ma Zhongfei is not an ordinary tourist, but the chairman of a technology company in Guangzhou City. He was invited by a Taiwan-based association and came to Taiwan to participate in trade and economic exchange activities. With regard to this incident, we respect the relevant agencies’ handling of the case.
■ According to the security management mechanism for cross-strait personnel exchanges, this person's itineraries should conform to the relevant regulations. If the actual itineraries go beyond the scope of the trip as originally applied for, the inviting entity must take the responsibility. In addition, this person originally applied to visit Taiwan in July, but later changed the date and came early without, however, giving an explanation to the National Immigration Agency in advance. Therefore, the inviting entity must provide an explanation. The NIA will also take note of those activities that are not included in the proposed itineraries and in the future if he applies to travel to Taiwan he will probably encounter great difficulty. As for the subsequent investigation into this case, we will contact judicial authorities to get better understanding.
QUESTION: What about the background of the inviting entity? Will applications it makes in the future for mainlanders to visit Taiwan be refused?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: In accordance with relevant stipulations, the NIA will handle applications one case at a time. Thus subsequent applications must await the conclusion of prior cases before they can be handled. If disciplinary action is taken against the inviting entity, the said entity will no longer be able to invite mainlanders to visit Taiwan. In addition, whether the inviting entity is just a nominal organization or not will be determined during the investigative process.
With the approaching 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Incident, the government will issue a statement at that time
QUESTION: The twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Incident is approaching. Will the government hold any kind of activity or express its concerns in this regard?
DEPUTY MINISTER LIU: In the process of cross-strait exchanges, we especially emphasize that democracy and freedom are the important basis for cross-strait exchanges and are also universal values. When the time comes, the government will issue a statement regarding the Tiananmen Incident.