MAC Warns Against Cross-Strait Exchange Summits in China

TaiwanPlus News

China is hosting two cross-strait exchange summits over the next two days, with a group of Taiwanese citizens attending. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which manages relations with China, released a statement saying that it disapproves of the summits and that Beijing often uses these kinds of exchanges to advance so-called "united front" tactics.

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00:00Taiwanese officials are raising the alarm over cross-strait meetings being held over the next two days in China.

00:07The summits provide a venue for informal dialogue between China and Taiwan,

00:11but the Mainland Affairs Council here in Taipei says exchanges like these can be used to advance Chinese Communist Party propaganda.

00:20Cadence Karanta joins us live from our newsroom in Taipei with more.

00:24Cadence, what do we know about these summits?

00:30So there are two cross-strait exchange summits happening over the next two days in China.

00:36One is focused on the media and one is focused on culture.

00:40And there will be Chinese officials that will be attending as well as a group of Taiwanese citizens,

00:46including former government officials from the Kuomintang or the KMT,

00:50which is Taiwan's opposition party and generally has closer ties with China.

00:54There also will be businessmen as well as the head of a media organization in Taiwan, as well as a well-known lyricist.

01:02And this group met with Chinese officials first yesterday ahead of the official start to the summit.

01:10And these summits aren't uncommon.

01:14So what are officials here in Taiwan worried about?

01:16So, yeah, so this is not the first time that these summits have happened.

01:25And although Chinese and Taiwanese governments cut off all formal communication in 2016,

01:30these kinds of cultural exchanges are not uncommon.

01:33When the KMT was in power, these kinds of exchanges were encouraged, actually.

01:39But the Democratic Progressive Party currently holds Taiwan's presidency.

01:43And they view China as a threat.

01:46And they are very wary of Chinese influence.

01:50That's because China has long asserted that Taiwan is part of their territory.

01:54And they say that they will take Taiwan by force if necessary.

02:00So the DPP has been stepping up its efforts to combat what it says is Chinese infiltration and influence within Taiwan.

02:09With these summits specifically, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, which manages relations between Taiwan and China,

02:16has said that they really disapprove of these summits.

02:18They say that these kinds of exchanges are only to advance Taiwan's or China's united front tactics.

02:27And these tactics are well documented.

02:29They're part of a broader political strategy to influence public opinion within Taiwan and to advance China's goal of taking Taiwan.

02:38So these summits are generally not uncommon.

02:41But they're definitely something the government is keeping an eye on, especially amid heightened tensions between both sides of the street.

02:50Well, thanks, Cadence.

02:51That was Cadence Kuranto reporting from our newsroom in Taipei.

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