Taiwan still trying to contact Beijing through hotline: acting premier
ROC Central News Agency
2016/01/29 16:51:18
Taipei, Jan. 29 (CNA) The hotline connecting officials in Taiwan and mainland China in charge of bilateral relations is still in place, and efforts continue to be made to reach the head of the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) in Beijing, Acting Premier Simon Chang (張善政) said Friday.
Reports have surfaced that Beijing has opted not to use the hotline, set up in December, after Taiwan's national elections on Jan. 16 that voted in a government expected to be less friendly to China than the incumbent Ma Ying-jeou administration.
In a radio interview, Chang was asked by host Clara Chou (周玉蔻) if the hotline had been cut off.
'The hotline has not been disconnected, but whether the other side answers is another thing,' Chang said.
Asked if the TAO had stopped answering the phone after the elections, Chang said 'the Mainland Affairs Council is still working on it.'
When he was pressed further on whether Beijing was ignoring Taiwan's calls, the acting premier said, 'I wouldn't put it that way. Contact has not been established, but it does not mean he did not answer,' referring to TAO chief Zhang Zhijun (張志軍).
The direct phone line was set up between the head of the MAC, Hsia Li-yan (夏立言), and the TAO's Zhang and was first used by the two on Dec. 30.
In a Jan. 27 press briefing in Beijing, TAO spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said he was not aware of any use of the hotline since the elections, but said it should be used only when both sides think it is necessary.
During the interview, Chou also asked Chang about rumors of mainland China cutting the number of its nationals visiting Taiwan, which began circulating after the elections.
According to Chang, mainland China denied the rumors when the MAC brought them up, but Taiwan's government will continue monitoring the situation.
(By Tai Ya-chen and Kay Liu)
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