The foundation set up by former President Ma Ying-jeou that invited a group of Chinese students to Taiwan for cultural exchanges could be banned from bringing more groups across for some time. It’s in response to an outcry over a comment that one of the visiting students made about Taiwan’s name while on the trip.
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00:00KMT legislators and the head of former President Ma Ying-jeou's foundation objecting after
00:07the government said the foundation could be banned from inviting exchange groups to Taiwan
00:11from China for months or even years.
00:14For nine days, a delegation of 40 Chinese students, teachers, and athletes was in Taiwan
00:19at the foundation's invitation, a trip it says was to foster cross-strait communication.
00:24But one of the Chinese students on the trip sparked backlash after she referred to Taiwan's
00:28national baseball team as China Taipei instead of its official name, Chinese Taipei.
00:43The difference between China Taipei and Chinese Taipei is small, but could be seen to emphasize
00:48China's sovereignty claim to Taiwan, which Taiwan's government rejects.
00:52The student's remark sparked an outcry.
00:55The Mainland Affairs Council, which handles cross-strait relations, said the comment may
00:58have violated government rules and accused Ma's foundation of not dealing with the controversy
01:03properly.
01:04They said they will meet with other agencies soon to decide whether to punish the foundation.
01:09But today, the foundation's CEO called on the government not to follow through with
01:13such action.
01:14KMT legislators also argued the student's comment actually illustrates the need for
01:36more cross-strait communication, because they may not have known their comment might cause
01:40offense.
01:41But the trip's effectiveness in promoting communication has also been in question.
01:45Some students at universities the Chinese group visited said the group didn't seem
01:49interested in genuine exchanges of views.
02:04Some in Taiwan were concerned about the trip in general, because most of the students on
02:08the trip are affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, prompting opponents to the
02:12visit to express concern they were coming to spread Beijing's propaganda, putting cross-strait
02:16tensions into the spotlight once again.
02:19Yixin Chen and Cadence Cuaranta for Taiwan Plus.