Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) is leading a 200-strong delegation to attend a high-level forum between the KMT and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) today in Guangzhou, China.
Among the politicians accepting invitations to join the trip were former People First Party (PFP) legislator Chiu Chung-liang (邱創良), who joined the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2007.
Former DPP legislator Hsu Jung-shu (許榮淑) and former Council of Agriculture chairman Fan Chen-tsung (范振宗) will also attend the three-day forum, which closes on Sunday.
Hsu said she would attend the event as the chairperson of the People United Party, shrugging off concerns over her pan-green background.
Chiu, on the other hand, said he had been invited by Hsu to attend the forum.
However, he said that he would respect the DPP’s decision when asked about DPP opposition to party members attending the forum.
DPP WARNING
DPP Taoyuan chapter director Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) yesterday said Chiu has not been very active on Taiwan’s political scene recently and had joined the People United Party.
If Chiu still holds DPP membership, he would be dealt with according to party regulations, Cheng said.
The KMT-CCP forum was initiated by former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) during a visit to China in 2005.
It has been a major communication platform between the KMT and the CCP since before the KMT regained power in 2008.
The DPP has condemned the unofficial KMT exchanges with China and it has banned its own officials from attending the KMT-CCP forums.
It revoked party memberships for Hsu and Fan after they attended a KMT-CPP forum last year.
MA’S SEND-OFF
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman, met with Wu and the rest of the delegation at the Presidential Office yesterday.
He lauded the KMT-CPP forums for serving as a great venue for cross-strait exchanges.
He said he expected the delegation to further enhance cross-strait economic exchanges in the wake of the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with Beijing.
“The KMT-CCP forum has made great contributions in promoting cross-strait relations, and we expect the forum to continue promoting economic, cultural and educational exchanges between the two sides,” Ma said.
Wu and the delegation will attend the forum tomorrow and Sunday.
Wu is expected to visit Beijing after the forum and meet Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) to discuss cross-strait cooperation following the signing of the ECFA.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS