TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan has asked China to “reinforce lateral communication” after the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) denied receiving messages about Taiwan’s offer to help China combat COVID-19 and claimed that it had contacted Taiwan about adding cross-strait flight destinations.
Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) Commander Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Friday (Jan. 6) that Taiwan has twice expressed to China its willingness to help as outbreaks were being reported all over the country despite official claims. However, TAO Spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) denied receiving relevant messages from Taiwan during a routine press conference on Wednesday (Jan. 11).
CECC Spokesperson Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) responded to Ma’s claim, saying the CECC confirmed through email and phone calls that China did receive its communications. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said that it did not want to speculate on why the TAO was not updated on relevant activities and asked that the TAO reinforce its internal lateral communication so it can serve its purpose of facilitating cross-strait exchange.
While advocating for more cross-strait flights and destinations during the same press conference on Wednesday, Ma also claimed that China had already contacted Taiwan about its proposal to add flight destinations. However, MAC Spokesperson Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said the Civil Aeronautics Administration has not received such a proposal.
He asked that the Chinese government reinforce its internal lateral communication to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.