China's 10 Cross-Strait Measures Criticized by Taiwan's Executive Yuan as 'Instrumentalizing Exchange, Weaponizing Trade'

Kuomintang (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wen returned to Taiwan this afternoon after concluding her visit to mainland China. This morning, China's Taiwan Affairs Office announced several cross-strait policy measures, including promoting the resumption of individual travel for residents of Shanghai and Fujian provinces to Taiwan, fully normalizing cross-strait air passenger direct flights, supporting Taiwanese agricultural and fishery products in participating in various exhibitions in mainland China to expand sales channels, and supporting Taiwanese small, medium, and micro enterprises in legally and compliantly developing the mainland Chinese market.

Lee Hui-chih stated in a press release that most of these so-called '10 measures to promote cross-strait exchanges and cooperation' have historically been implemented and suspended by Beijing under various baseless pretexts, causing deep harm to Taiwanese industries and farmers/fishermen. Past experience has repeatedly shown that such highly uncertain and selective practices, such as arbitrarily adjusting or interrupting openness, or offering differential treatment only to specific targets, are merely united front tactics that instrumentalize exchange and weaponize trade coercion, which the Taiwanese people and industries clearly understand.

Lee Hui-chih said that the government supports healthy, orderly, and reciprocal cross-strait exchanges based on principles of equality and dignity. The government will conduct overall risk assessments and gatekeeping for various cross-strait interactions to ensure that all exchange arrangements do not impact Taiwan's economic structure and industrial composition.

Lee Hui-chih pointed out that all items involving government public authority should also be negotiated through existing mechanisms between the two governments, without any political preconditions, and handled in accordance with market mechanisms and international norms. If China genuinely intends to change its past practices and engage in healthy, orderly, and predictable interactions with Taiwan based on equality and dignity, that would be the best way to build mutual trust across the strait. (Editors: Lin Ke-lun, Yang Kai-hsiang) 1150412