TSAI ADMINISTRATION TO RE-EVALUATE CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS AND POLICY|兩岸不對等 我方擬緊縮中國官員來台

After Panama cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the Tsai administration said that it will re-evaluate current cross-strait relations and make policy changes. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said that Taiwan has always showed great sincerity towards cross-strait exchanges. However, Taiwanese scholars and officials face strict restrictions when it comes to visiting China. The MAC said once there is a revision to current policies or measures, it will announce it to the public. In 2010, China's then Minister of Culture Cai Wu attended the first cross-Strait cultural forum held in Taiwan. He was the first minister-level Chinese official to visit Taiwan. However, he visited Taiwan in the capacity as honorary chairman of the China Friendship Association of Cultural Circles, rather than his official title Minister of Culture. Taiwan's government has adopted an open attitude towards this practice, allowing Chinese officials to apply to visit Taiwan in non-official capacities. However, after president Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, China has placed strict restrictions on Taiwanese scholars and officials applying to visit China. Government section chiefs are the highest-ranking Taiwanese official allowed to visit China. Panama's recent decision to cut ties with Taiwan has prompted Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council to review the possibility of placing stricter restrictions on visiting Chinese officials. ==CHIU CHUI-CHENG Deputy Minister, Mainland Affairs Council== We are now reviewing the imbalance, and making adjustments to it. We will not rule out any possibilities. The bill to include Chinese students in the National Health Insurance program, which is currently being reviewed at the Legislative Yuan, is said to be re-evaluated because of Panama's decision to shift diplomatic ties to China. However, the DPP caucus said there has been no such discussions. The KMT caucus, which supports the bill, said that if the Legislative Yuan postpones its progress to review the bill, it will be the same as freezing it. ==YEH YI-JIN Sec-Gen and Dir-Gen, DPP Legislative Caucus== The DPP caucus neither tried to block the bill nor made special talks on it because of the Panama incident. As far as I know, the extraordinary session does not deal with this. ==WANG YU-MIN Sec-Gen KMT Legislative Caucus== If polices toward China change, which may include freezing the bill to include Chinese students in the NHI, and decreasing the number of Chinese students studying in Taiwan, it will cause a negative impact on future cross-strait exchanges. If that's what the DPP meant for adjustments to its policies. The KMT caucus also called for the Tsai administration to carefully deal with the current cross-strait relations, avoiding Taiwan and China to stand off against each other. TRANSLATED BY ARIEL HSIEH 巴拿馬斷交事件，讓兩岸關係更為緊張，蔡政府表示將重新評估兩岸情勢，現在傳出將嚴審中國官員來台申請案，甚至可能重新評估陸生納保政策，對此陸委會下午表示，我方一直展現兩岸交流誠意，但長期以來我國官員和學者，被片面限制登陸，政府會在最近檢視跟檢討這種不對稱、失衡的狀態，一旦有明確政策及措施，就會對外公布。 2010年當時中國文化部長蔡武率團來台參加第一屆兩岸文化論壇，也是首位來台訪問的中國部長級人士，不過當時蔡武並非以中國文化部長身份申請來台，而是以中華文化聯誼會名譽會長的身份，事實上類似的案例相當多，中國官員不以官方身分申請來台，但我國政府大都以開放態度同意來台。但蔡政府上任後，對岸反而對我國學者與官員嚴格限制，最高只開放科長層級官員，在巴拿馬斷交事件後，陸委會表示將檢討這種不對稱、失衡的狀態。 ==陸委會副主委 邱垂正== 中國大陸目前這種人流往來 呈現一種失衡的現象 我們也正在進行檢討與調整 不排除任何可能性 另傳出也可能重新評估的則是，目前還在立法院審查的陸生納保政策，不過民進黨團表示，目前沒有討論，但向來支持陸生納保的國民黨團則認為，如果立法院延後審查這項修正案，就等於是凍結法案。 == 民進黨立院黨團幹事長 葉宜津== 並沒有特別因為巴拿馬事件 而特別去阻擋 或者特別去討論 怎麼樣陸生納保的事 沒有 即使 至少我的瞭解是 臨時會是不會處理的 這個事情 ==國民黨立院黨團書記長 王育敏== 我覺得如果這個將來政策轉變 譬如說不只是陸生納保 從此就冷凍 他連陸生來台的人數 他可能要縮減 這個就是他所謂的調整的策略 我覺得整個的方向 對於未來兩岸的交流 其實只會越來越不利 國民黨團也呼籲蔡政府應該審慎處理目前兩岸情勢，避免兩岸成為對抗關係。 記者 張志雄 謝其文 台北報導