Pres. Office denies that first lady will visit China

“First lady Christine Chow has no plans to visit China; nor will she have such a plan in the future,” presidential spokesman Wang Yu-chi said.

Wang was responding to a report in the latest issue of the weekly Next magazine which said she would visit China's earthquake-stricken Sichuan province to donate NT$1.52 billion for post-quake reconstruction.

The magazine said she would make the visit in August in her capacity as honorary president of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China.

The spokesman disclosed that Next had contacted the Presidential Office for comment before publishing the report.

The Presidential Office then verified the report with both its internal channels and the Red Cross, and found that it was unfounded.

Meanwhile, Red Cross Deputy Secretary-General Lin Hsiu-fen said the organization was not making any plans or arrangements for the first lady to visit China.

Steven Chen, the Red Cross secretary-general who Next claimed was planning the so-called cross-strait diplomacy, described the report as “far-fetched.”

Chen said he has never proposed such visit plans as the Red is not in a position to handle such a sensitive issue as Taipei-Beijing relations.

Cross-strait tensions have eased since President Ma Ying-jeou took office in May 2008.

Ma has often been asked whether he has plans to meet with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jin-tao, but the president has repeatedly answered that such a plan is not on his present agenda.

The United Evening News cited sources close the Ma as saying that it is very unlikely that the first lady would like to be involved in politics although she is happy to devote herself to charity work.

Chow has always played a low profile, having avoided almost all of her husband's political activities.

Her most active participation in Ma's political life was seen during the last weeks of her husband's presidential campaign last year when she openly solicited votes for him.

She retired — reportedly reluctantly — as a high-ranking executive at a bank after Ma took office.

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