Ma Ying-jeou Foundation could be banned from holding exchange events: MAC

Taipei, Dec. 5 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday said the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation could face a six-month to five-year ban on inviting Chinese delegations to Taiwan due to its mishandling of an incident involving a Chinese student group.

In a Dec. 1 interview, a member of the group, invited by the foundation established by former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for a nine-day exchange trip, referred to Taiwan's national baseball team -- officially competing under the name "Chinese Taipei" -- as "the China Taipei team" while congratulating the team on winning the WBSC Premier12 Championship.

The remarks sparked controversy in Taiwan, with ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers condemning them as "undermining Taiwan's status," while opposition Kuomintang (KMT) legislators defended them as the use of customary language that should be respected.

The delegation may have violated multiple provisions under Paragraph 1 of Article 16 of the "Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into Taiwan Area," said Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), deputy head and spokesperson of the MAC, at a Thursday news conference.

One of the provisions states that if the inviting organization is found to have committed the action of having "individuals from the Mainland Area whose actions or activities in Taiwan are determined to pose a significant threat to national security or social stability," their applications may be rejected for a specified period based on the severity of the circumstances.

The MAC will "soon" convene relevant agencies to make a decision regarding the potential administrative punishment in relation to the incident, Liang said, adding that it could include banning the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation from inviting delegations from China for exchanges for a period of six months to five years.

"China Taipei" carries a strong political connotation that the people of Taiwan cannot accept, Liang said, adding, "I believe that former President Ma Ying-jeou would not have accepted the term 'China Taipei' during his presidency."

Liang also noted that the major issue is that after the incident occurred, the MAC reminded and warned the foundation, "but it failed to handle it properly," without elaborating on what the foundation should have done.

As a result, the incident escalated over the past few days, ultimately intensifying social tensions on the National Tsing Hua University campus on Wednesday, where some displayed the national flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan's official name) while others held the national flags of the People's Republic of China (China's official name), Liang said.

Meanwhile, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation CEO Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑), who saw the Chinese students off at Taoyuan International Airport on Thursday morning, told the press a five-year penalty imposed by the MAC would not only impact the foundation but also have a chilling effect on other organizations.

He urged the MAC to avoid adopting a "martial law mentality" to obstruct cross-strait exchanges.