The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation invited a group of mainland Chinese students to visit Taiwan at the end of last year. Some of the students made remarks that appeared to belittle Taiwan. Today, former President of the Republic of China, Ma Ying-jeou, was summoned by the Immigration Department to clarify whether the visit of the mainland Chinese university group violated the regulations of the “Regulations Governing the Permission for People from the Mainland Area to Enter the Taiwan Area.”
In November 27, 2024, the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation invited 40 teachers and students from 7 universities in mainland China to visit Taiwan, accompanied by Olympic table tennis gold medalist Ma Long and Olympic shooting gold medalist Yang Qian. During a visit to Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium on December 1, Shanghai Fudan University student Song Siyao mentioned, “On behalf of this group of teachers and students, I congratulate the ‘Chinese Taipei team’ on winning the world championship.”
In addition, Olympic table tennis gold medalist Ma Long visited Zhongshan Girls High School. Chinese state-run media such as “NetEase” and “Sohu” described Ma Long’s visit to Zhongshan Girls High School as “like Tang Seng entering the Spider Cave” and “scared white.” The Zhongshan Girls High School Parent-Teacher Association issued a statement in response, expressing strong protest and rejecting political manipulation. The controversies sparked by the visit of mainland Chinese students have left the Parent-Teacher Association deeply distressed and concerned about the harm caused to the children by media reports and online attacks.
Amid accusations of mainland China belittling Taiwan, the Immigration Department, as the regulatory authority, has requested former President Ma Ying-jeou to appear and explain whether the visit of the mainland Chinese university group in 2024 violated the relevant provisions of the “Regulations Governing the Permission for People from the Mainland Area to Enter the Taiwan Area.”
During a media interview this afternoon, Ma Ying-jeou stated that in an interview with Taiwan media, second-year student Song Siyao of Shanghai Fudan University simply used the term ‘Chinese Taipei team,’ which is commonly used in mainland China. Ma believes that the majority of Taiwanese people would believe she did not intend to disparage Taiwan and sincerely congratulated the baseball team on winning the world championship.
Japanese senior media figure and executive director of the Indo-Pacific Strategic Think Tank, Akio Yaito, has stated that using terms like “Chinese Taipei” to insult Taiwan reflects the consistent condescending attitude of the Chinese Communist Party towards Taiwan. He believes that although this delegation may outwardly be for cultural exchange, they likely underwent political review and training by the Chinese Communist Party before their departure. Their words and actions in Taiwan are not on a personal level but rather a representation of the Communist Party regime behind them. Therefore, apart from infiltration and united front tactics, it is unclear what significance such cross-strait exchanges hold for Taiwan.
Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China, Qiu Chui-zheng, has previously mentioned that the invitation of mainland Chinese students by the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation involved remarks belittling Taiwan and violations of pre-event commitments not to make politically related statements. Subsequent “administrative sanctions” will be imposed, which may include barring the organizing entity from inviting similar groups for a period of time, with potential bans ranging from 6 months to 5 years.