Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) tomorrow to discuss cross-strait relations following the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), the KMT said yesterday.
Wu and a delegation left for China on Friday to attend a KMT-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) forum in Guangzhou, China, yesterday and today. He will fly to Beijing after the forum and meet with Hu tomorrow.
“Former chairman Wu will visit Beijing after the forum under the invitation of Hu. The two will discuss issues concerning the ECFA and the benefits for people across the Taiwan Straits,” Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭), director of the KMT’s mainland affairs department, said in a statement.
Wu and Hu are expected to discuss the implementation and timetable of the ECFA tomorrow. The ECFA was signed on June 29 in Chongqing, China.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the KMT-CCP forum, Wu yesterday defended the ECFA and called for more cross-strait exchanges and peaceful cross-strait development.
“There has been many challenges and questions about the ECFA, but the KMT has confidence in the economic pact, and is willing to accept challenges. We believe the majority of the people are standing on our side,” Wu said.
Wu further stressed the importance of the KMT-CCP forum as more than unofficial exchanges between the two parties, and said the 200 delegates included members from various political backgrounds.
Business tycoons and politicians with a pan-green background have been included in the delegation to attend the forum. Among them are 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).
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.
Lien yesterday issued a written statement to congratulate the annual forum, saying he expected the ECFA to facilitate cross-start economic cooperation.
“The two sides should discuss Taiwan and China’s participation in regional economic cooperation, and extend cross-strait economic development,” he said in the statement.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS