TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF, 海峽交流基金會), Taiwan's semi-official organization handling technical and business matters with China, has publicly backed the Mainland Affairs Council's (MAC, 陸委會) decision to closely examine the upcoming 13th Kinmen-Xiamen Swimming Relay Contest. The annual cross-strait swimming competition is scheduled for July 26. SEF Deputy Secretary-General Li Pao-wen (黎寶文) affirmed the foundation's support for MAC's position during a regular press briefing held Friday (July 4), where he acknowledged potential political complications surrounding the cross-strait sporting event.
The MAC, Taiwan's cabinet-level agency responsible for cross-strait policy, has categorized the swimming competition as a potentially politically motivated event, necessitating thorough governmental evaluation. During the briefing, Li underscored SEF's commitment to fostering constructive cross-strait exchanges based on mutual respect without political prerequisites. He revealed that Chinese officials had attempted to inject political elements into last year's competition, prompting a calibrated response from Taiwan. This strategic approach included sending SEF Secretary-General Lo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) to the opening ceremony while deliberately avoiding direct engagement with Chinese counterparts.
Li articulated concerns that politically motivated agendas threaten to undermine meaningful cross-strait dialogue and activities. He emphasized Taiwan's consistently open stance toward discussions on various issues. The swimming relay, established in 2009, has developed a tradition of rotating its starting location annually between Xiamen (廈門), a major city in China's Fujian province, and Kinmen (金門), Taiwan's outlying island located just kilometers from the Chinese mainland. Li referenced a telling incident from the previous year's competition when Chinese representatives from Fujian (福建) province and Xiamen city deliberately departed following remarks by Kinmen County's deputy magistrate Lee Weng-liang (李文良), effectively sidestepping any engagement with the Taiwanese delegation led by Lo. ◼