Taipei, Dec. 27 (CNA) A local media story quoting an unnamed Taiwanese official who used a pejorative to brand Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin as a "C-list" politician was incorrect, a top Taiwanese negotiator with China said in a hastily called press conference Sunday.
In a story published a day earlier by the China Times daily, an official of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) -- Taiwan's quasi-official organization set up to deal with cross-Taiwan Strait negotiations -- was quoted as saying that the situation of three Taiwanese political heavyweights trying to meet with Chen during his five-day visit that concluded Friday was like "the A-listers versus the C-listers," with Chen as the "C-list" politician.
SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung, who signed three agreements with Chen the previous week, questioned the authenticity of the story at a press conference, saying the report was not true.
Major newspapers and news Web sites in Taiwan had all dedicated extensive coverage to the topic over the past two days. The story, which described former ruling Kuomintang (KMT) chairmen Wu Po-hsiung and Lien Chan, and opposition People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong as "A-list politicians who were desperately seeking to meet with Chen, a C-list official in China, " stirred up a political discussion, with President Ma Ying-jeou saying that the usage was
"inappropriate and disrespectful."
Meanwhile, Premier Wu Den-yih told reporters that "the use of the expression probably needs more contemplation, " while Soong said the statement would "have a negative impact on cross-strait relations."
Responding to reporters' questions, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairwoman Lai Hsin-yuan said that "there is no such thing as A-list or C-list in cross-strait exchanges because the people are the most important factor."