Fulfilling his family obligations at last, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
"This moment is an unforgettable one for the Lien family... Sixty-some years is a long time; in the past, there was no way to come here to pay my respects. I am moved and grateful for this moment," Lien said yesterday.
Accompanied by his wife Lien Fang Yu (
Speaking in Taiwanese, Lien said that visiting his grandmother's grave for the first time since his departure from China made all of the bitterness and sadness of the past 60-some years well up in his heart.
Yesterday was the first time that Lien family members had been back to sweep his grandmother's grave since his family left for Taiwan, Lien said.
After sweeping his grandmother's grave in the afternoon, Lien and his accompanying delegation flew to Shanghai, where he will spend two days.
According to a CNA report yesterday, Lien is scheduled to meet with Wang, the chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, this morning, after which he will meet with local Taiwanese businessmen.
Lien is scheduled to return to the nation tomorrow. Many fear a bloody encounter, reminiscent of the violence seen at the airport during Lien's departure for China on April 26.
Wang, currently hospitalized, reportedly will leave his hospital room to meet with Lien at a nearby hotel for talks, probably on issues including the so-called "1992 consensus" -- that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait hold different interpretations on the definition of "one China."
Wang met with Taiwan's top negotiator with China, Koo Chen-fu (
Koo and Wang met again in 1998 in Shanghai, known as the second "Koo-Wang" talks, but their third meeting never came about after former president Lee Teng-hui (Lee Teng-hui) redefined "cross-strait relations" as special "state-to-state" relations in 1999, whereupon Beijing closed its door to dialogue with Taiwan, accusing Lee of promoting Taiwan independence.
Koo died at the age of 88 in March.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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