Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), the nation’s top negotiator with China and head of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), returned to Taiwan from the UK yesterday after attending the UK’s Conservative Party conference in Manchester.
Chiang attended the Conservative Party’s annual conference between Oct. 4 and last Friday in his capacity as a vice chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
He said the Conservative Party invited him and two aides to attend the meeting because both the KMT and the Tories are members of the International Democratic Union (IDU).
“Countries around the world have been paying closer attention to the Tories, speculating that its leader David Cameron could win the general election next June to become Britain’s next prime minister,” Chiang said upon arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Chiang said he took the opportunity to attend the Tory conference, which drew the participation of representatives from many other IDU member countries, to present information about President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) cross-strait policies, the administration’s policy achievements and its prospects for the future.
He said he worked 20 hours during his two-night stay in Manchester, meeting a total of 24 delegates from IDU member countries to inform them about Taiwan and what the KMT is doing in its efforts to improve cross-strait relations.
The SEF chairman, however, said he was saddened to note that some people back home did not appreciate the effort he made on the nation’s behalf, and instead focused on trivial matters like who paid the airfare for him and his two aides.
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