|
Su Chi confirms visit to Boao Forum
MAKING FRIENDS: KMT and DPP legislators questioned the
advisability of allowing a former top national security official to brush elbows
with Chinese officials in China
By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Mar 22, 2010, Page 1
Former National Security Council (NSC) secretary-general Su Chi (蘇起) yesterday
confirmed he would attend the Boao Forum in China next month, saying that he
wanted to energize himself and make some friends.
Local media reported yesterday that Su was likely to participate in the Boao
Forum scheduled for April 9 to April 11 in Hainan Province.
Confirming the report, Su, who had previously commented he could “resurface”
after leaving his post at the NSC, said he could now speak and act more freely.
After visiting China, Su said he would also attend several international
conferences in Europe and the US.
The Presidential Office yesterday declined to comment on whether Su would attend
the forum, saying Su was no longer a public official.
Asked whether it was President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) idea to send Su to the
event, Presidential Office Spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said he was in no
position to make any remark on the matter because Su no longer served at the NSC.
Ma doubles as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman.
The annual event is a communication channel between the KMT and the Chinese
Communist Party.
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said there was
no law barring Su from going to China as long as he obtained the permission of
the National Immigration Agency (NIA).
Liu said public servants whose jobs involved sensitive matters — such as
national security or cross-strait affairs — must obtain permission from the NIA
before they visit China.
Each agency sets different time periods for such a requirement, Liu said. At the
MAC, Liu said applicants must seek the NIA’s permission if they wish to visit
China within three years of leaving their posts at the council. Former officials
no longer need to do so three years after their departure, he said.
Su stepped down on Feb. 11 amid calls for his resignation. Citing health and
family reasons, Su at the time declined to confirm whether his resignation was
linked to the furor over US beef imports. Critics had long urged Su to resign to
shoulder responsibility for the fallout over a US beef protocol because he
proposed signing it without obtaining public support.
The legislature passed an amendment to the Act Governing Food Sanitation
(食品衛生管理法) on Jan. 5 barring imports of specific beef products from countries
with documented cases of mad cow disease in the past decade. The vote reversed
the deal the Ma administration had signed with Washington in October.
KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) yesterday questioned the appropriateness of Su
participating at the Boao Forum.
Lo told reporters that Ma should prevent Su from traveling to the meeting.
“There are many talented personnel in the KMT. Su is not the only one,” Lo said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said it would be
“very inappropriate for Su to attend the forum” given that Su was a senior NSC
official with access to state secrets.
“I suspect Su is being sent by President Ma to discuss secret deals at the forum
and I call on the public to boycott Su’s trip,” Tsai said.
|
