A New Party lawmaker and staunch unificationist said yesterday that he plans to lead a group of retired Taiwan generals on a visit to Chinese military establishments in early June.
"This will be the first time ... to discuss face to face with the mainland's military officers," said legislator Elmer Fung (
The group was invited by the semi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait to visit Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou. In China the retired generals are expected to visit military installations and hold talks with military officials and scholars.
The planned visit comes in the wake of a decision by Washington to sell a hefty batch of weapons to Taiwan, and President George W. Bush's public show of support for Taiwan's defense against a Chinese attack.
Fung said the visit is aimed at building mutual military trust across the Taiwan Strait. The 30-member group, consisting of retired generals and military experts, plans to set out on June 3.
Officials from the Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council said the council had not received any application for the group's visit.
The officials also added that group members will have to meet Taiwan's legal restrictions on government and military officials visiting China.
Beijing has so far kept the DPP government at arm's length and has instead chosen to talk only to opposition parties.
The DPP government has called repeatedly for cross-strait military exchanges to avoid unexpected clashes, but Beijing has so far ignored the calls.
DPP Legislator Yu Jan-daw (余政道) said the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council had turned down a request by seven DPP legislators to visit China.
Beijing has insisted the DPP government must agree to its "one China" principle before any official dialogue can begin.
Fung insisted the recent US arms sale was primarily motivated by Washington's own interests.
"The US regards China as a mock enemy, and Taiwan is a link in its first defense chain, grouping South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian nations," he said.
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