OLD FRIEND:
The ‘Taiwan is not a country’ comment was likely made to appease Beijing and get the former president a meeting with Xi Jinping, a lawmaker said
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By Chen Cheng-yu and Jason Pan / Staff reporters
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday denounced a comment by a top aide of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), saying that his statement “Taiwan is not a country” denigrates the nation’s sovereignty.
“Taiwan is not a part of China, and neither side is subordinate to the other. Most Taiwanese do not agree with the remark by Ma’s aide. If he believes it, then we want to ask, which country was Ma elected president of?” DPP caucus whip Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said.
“We know that Ma is trying to enhance his standing by visiting China in a bid to set up a second meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), but talk by Ma and his aides have ignored the present-day political reality and have harmed Taiwanese,” Wu added.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Republic
“Right now, we have many foreign friends speaking up for Taiwan, helping to strengthen our status and links with democratic countries. Only the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and their officials are working with China to undermine our own government,” Wu said.
Ma is planning to visit China from Monday next week to April 11 with a group of students to tour Chinese historical and cultural sites and schools, while making stops in Guangdong, Shaanxi and Beijing, Ma Ying-jeou Culture and Education Foundation director Hsiao Hsu- tsen (蕭旭岑) said earlier this week.
“Ma of course hopes there is an opportunity to see an old friend,” Hsiao said when asked about potential arrangements for Ma to meet with Xi.
Hsiao also said that, according to the Constitution, “Taiwan is not a sovereign and independent country.”
Meanwhile, DPP Legislator Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) said Ma and Hsiao were “kowtowing to Beijing” while it is preparing a military invasion.
“We also want to ask KMT members and Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫): Do all of you support this political stance? How many times do we have to hear thise pro-China and defeatist talk from Ma and other KMT officials?” Lin asked.
“We suspect such talk is to appease Beijing as conditions for getting a meeting with Xi,” DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said, adding that Ma was ignoring the current international situation.
“We are seeing China create conflict in the South China Sea, leading the US, Japan and the Philippines to forge an alliance with democratic countries to condemn China’s ‘gray zone’ tactics,” he said.
“We see KMT politicians demanding President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) visit Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島). When this got turned down, KMT organized their own trip to the island and now Ma will go visit China next week,” Wang added.
“All these are seen as Taiwanese politicians standing up to support China under the current circumstances, and thereby Taiwan could be subjected to condemnation by the international community, as military tensions are rising in the region. This is not what Taiwanese wish to see,” he said.
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