TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council on Sunday criticized retired Navy captain Lu Li-shih’s (呂禮詩) visit to China.

The MAC said Lu’s decision to accept an invitation from the Chinese Communist Party and cooperate with United Front propaganda was “despicable,” CNA reported.

The council said people like Lu have repeatedly used People’s Liberation Army activities to test the democratic limits of Taiwanese society. The government will examine whether his behavior was illegal, it added.

To prevent such gray-zone actions from deliberately inciting social confrontation, the MAC said it has proposed an amendment to the Cross-Strait Act to punish retired officers involved in similar situations.

Lu recently attended an event celebrating the 77th anniversary of the PLA Navy, where he declared that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are “one family” and said that “the motherland’s strength represents Taiwan’s security,” according to CNA.

China announced 10 cross-strait measures on April 12, including exploring the establishment of a regular communication mechanism between the Chinese Communist Party and the KMT, resuming individual tours to Taiwan for residents of Shanghai and Fujian, and normalizing regular direct cross-strait flights.

The MAC condemned the measures, saying they were similar to previous unverifiable ones. They are merely political transactions between the CCP and KMT, the council said.

The MAC emphasized that any cross-strait matters involving public authority must be negotiated between the two governments on an equal footing.