Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te's recent speeches delivered as part of his so-called "10 lectures on unity" campaign have drawn criticism for divisive rhetoric and attempts to provoke devision in Taiwan society and temper with history.
Experts from both sides of the Taiwan Strait have condemned Lai's speeches as further fueling tensions in Taiwan and suppressing political opposition under the guise of "unity."
"In Lai's eyes, only Taiwan secessionist is correct and pure. His '10 lectures on unity', of which he has delivered two, have been met with widespread negative reviews. The content is empty and full of fallacies, which will have negative effect on unity. 'One China' must include both sides of the Taiwan Strait. However, in his speech, Lai has been constantly cutting ties between the two sides, even denying that they share the same roots," said Yu Tzu-Hsiang, a professor at Shih Hsin University.
In his speech, Lai quoted the so-called Treaty of San Francisco to boast Taiwan secessionist activities.
Zhang Hua, a research fellow at the Institute of Taiwan Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, dismissed Lai's comment as legally and historically baseless.
He pointed out that the so-called San Francisco Peace Conference in September 1951 was convened without the participation of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the sole legal government of China since 1949.
"In fact, China did not participate in the conference in San Francisco at that time. This means that the Chinese government does not recognize the so-called Treaty of San Francisco. Even the Kuomintang authorities did not attend," he said.
Lai's selective citation is a blatant challenge to the authority of international law as he distorted UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 and deliberately misrepresented international legal documents, including the 1943 Cairo Declaration, the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation, and the Instrument of Surrender signed by Japan in September 1945.
"The international order established during and after World War II includes that Taiwan should be returned to China and Taiwan is a part of China. We know that the Cairo Declaration clearly states that the Chinese territories, such as Northeast China, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, taken by Japan, should be returned to China. This is clearly recorded. Subsequently, in the Potsdam Proclamation and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, this point was further confirmed," Zhang added.
"The only reference to the Taiwan region in the U.N. is 'Taiwan, Province of China' similar to Shandong Province or Hebei Province. Lai Ching-te claimed that Resolution 2758 did not involve Taiwan. However, the resolution dealt with the issue of China's representation in the United Nations and it was impossible to single out Taiwan Province," said Li Zhenguang, director of Taiwan research institute at Beijing Union University.
Experts criticize Lai Ching-te for distorting history, provoking division in Taiwan society
Li Lan, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), said that the infrastructure at the Alashankou port, also known as Alataw Pass, a major railway port in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, should be further upgraded and used intensively and efficiently to better support the high-quality development of foreign trade.
Located on the border with Kazakhstan, the Alashankou port serves as a key transportation corridor linking China with Central Asia and Europe. Freight services passing through Alashankou now cover 128 routes, connecting China with 21 countries. Cargo carried ranges from auto parts and electronic products to daily consumer goods, according to customs data.
Li, director of the port's customs technical center, has witnessed profound changes of the land port amid the country's opening-up drive.
As an important gateway opening up to the west, the Alashankou port has become one of the fastest-growing ports in terms of the foreign trade cargo throughput since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed by China. While performing her duties as an NPC deputy during the past year, Li focused on addressing the pain points facing foreign trade enterprises in their process for customs clearance.
"We have also conducted market research in Central Asia. Initially, we thought that our infrastructure was significantly superior to theirs. However, in recent years, their infrastructure has greatly been modernized and highly efficient. Also, their customs clearance efficiency has improved rapidly. On the other side, I think our infrastructure, including customs clearance capabilities, needs to be enhanced and further improved," said Zheng Jiahong, the person in charge of a local enterprise.
Through field research, Li discovered that a lack of standardized provisions regarding regarding the number of channels at ports of different levels, the configuration of inspection facilities and equipment, the layout of functional areas, operational procedures, and human resource guarantee significantly constrained customs clearance efficiency at the port, thereby adding burdens to logistics companies.
"In international trade, the logistics cycle is a key factor affecting the profits of foreign trade enterprises. It's safe to say that every hour, every minute counts on our cost. Saving time essentially means increasing corporate profits," said Shan Pu, the person in charge of a logistics enterprise in Alashankou City.
Xinjiang boasts 16 of the 101 land ports across China. In Li's research, she found that the primary entities responsible for port construction in various regions are often prefecture-level or even county-level governments, leading to a lack of unified standards for first-class port construction, which makes it more challenging to meet the growing demands of foreign trade development.
In her proposal to this year's NPC session, Li suggests that the National Standards for the Construction of Port Inspection Infrastructure should be revised at a faster pace at the national level, so as to provide scientific guidance for the construction of ports across the country and enable them to adapt to the increasing demands of imports and exports.
"During this year's 'two sessions', while exchanging views with several deputies from the delegation of Xinjiang, I noticed a shared aspiration that everyone is eager for Xinjiang to make greater contributions to the country's overall plan of opening up to the west. Through my thorough and in-depth research, I hope that the relevant ministries and commissions will expedite the formulation of a new edition of the National Standards for the Construction of Port Inspection Infrastructure. This will enable the upgrading of our ports, better equipping them to meet the demands of high-quality development in the country's foreign trade sector in the future," Li said.
The "two sessions" refer to the annual meetings of China's top legislature -- the National People's Congress (NPC), and the top political advisory body -- the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
The 14th NPC opened its fourth session on Thursday in Beijing.
NPC deputy calls for infrastructure upgrades of land ports in Xinjiang
