People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
The announcement came after a round of consultations between the PFP's legislative caucus and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).
"None of the details have been arranged yet, but Chairman Soong will have to make the trip in the near future, otherwise there would be no meaning to such a trip," Chang Hsien-yao (
Soong will seek to exchange views with the leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties before embarking on a trip to China, Chang said, adding that no plans have yet been made for meetings with local officials.
No date set
PFP Legislator Tsai Shen-chia (
"We still need to communicate with the MAC before making a decision, and will be visiting the Council of Agriculture next week as well," Tsai said.
Tsai is also chairman of the Tainan County Farmers' Association.
The PFP caucus' meeting with MAC Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) yesterday came amid indications that the government is planning legal action against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Chiang Ping-kun (江丙坤) after he concluded a 10-point agreement with the Chinese Communist Party during a recent trip to Beijing. Chiang has been accused of inappropriately taking affairs of state into his own hands without official authorization or consent.
With several prominent political figures mulling plans to visit Beijing in the coming months, the MAC yesterday repeated that the law prohibits negotiating or signing agreements of any sort with China without government authorization.
"I hope that the government and political parties can hold such meetings more often to build domestic consensus and avoid allowing China to divide Taiwan," Wu said during his meeting with the PFP lawmakers.
Joint statement
A MAC press statement yesterday said that the meeting had been held to discuss the implementation of the joint statement on cross-strait policy which Soong and President Chen Shui-bian (
MAC spokesman You Ying-lung (
Nonetheless, the MAC has stressed that the government would not oppose cross-strait exchanges as long as they do not put national interests at risk.
In addition to the PFP's proposal to send an agricultural delegation to China, the KMT's legislative caucus is considering a visit to Beijing to discuss the establishment of direct charter flights between China and Taiwan.
Jia Qinglin (
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