The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and Taiwan's representative office in Singapore said yesterday they had no idea whether Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) met with Chinese officials during his visit to Singapore.
Lien, who visited Singapore several times when he was the vice president and premier, could have asked the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore to help arrange his visit. The diplomatic privilege is granted to former leaders of the country.
However, according to a Taiwanese government representative in Singapore, the KMT and the Singaporean government planned Lien's two-day trip. The KMT did not consult the representative office in Singapore about Lien's visit.
"It is inconvenient for us to intervene in [Lien's trip]. We know the KMT and the Singaporean side arranged the visit," the representative said.
Michel Lu (
"We are happy to see the success of unofficial exchanges," he said.
The MAC said it had no information about whether Lien met with the Chinese communist officials in Singapore, but noted that KMT officials denied reports of Lien's contact with the Chinese government.
KMT Legislator Su Chi (
Lien and Singaporean leaders are "familiar friends," said Su, a former deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office. "I don't think his trip to Singapore had anything to do with his planned trip to China. The Singaporean visit was scheduled long time ago."
MAC Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Saturday that Lien, who is planning a trip to China, might break the law if he signs any agreement with Chinese leaders that involves Taiwan's sovereignty.
Wu said the government would not intervene in social exchanges between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party. But he warned the KMT would be violating the law if it goes ahead and signs a "peace deal" with Beijing without the government's authorization.
In related news, Wang Dan (
Speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles, Wang said the KMT demanded truth and democracy in Taiwan but ignored China's abuses of human rights.
He challenged Lien to ask Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) to make moves toward democratization during his visit to China.
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