The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) forum is entirely different from a possible meeting between KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and there are many possibilities in the air, KMT Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) said yesterday.
Lee’s remarks came in light of heightened chances of Chu leading the KMT delegation to attend the forum after both sides of the Taiwan Strait announced the timing and location for the forum on Saturday next week.
The parties have held meetings at least once per year since 2006. A chairman or honorary chairman has always led the KMT delegation and been met by the CCP’s chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
According to Lee, Chu could arrange a meeting with Xi even if Chu does not attend the forum, adding that Chu could also attend the forum and arrange a meeting with Xi later.
It is also possible that Chu could attend the forum and in passing hold a meeting with Xi, Lee said.
According to KMT sources, though the party was leaning toward making the two events separate, if Chu was certain to make the trip to China, he should arrange for a meeting with Xi.
The source said that all information showed that there was a high chance that Chu would head the KMT delegation.
Meanwhile, Lee said that both parties were still negotiating on who would attend the forum, adding that the forum and the Chu-Xi meeting would be handled separately regardless of the final decision.
The KMT has clearly divided the forum and the possible Chu-Xi meeting into two separate events, Lee said, adding that whether Chu would head the delegation himself or appoint the party’s deputy chairman to lead was still up in the air.
As of now, we are only certain of the time and location of the forum Lee said.
However, he added that given past experience, if Chu heads the delegation, then a meeting with the Chinese leader had a high chance of occurring.
Former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) and former KMT chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄), both of whom have headed KMT delegations since the forums began in 2006, met with then-Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and Xi after he took over the post in 2012.
Though it would not be a first for an incumbent KMT chairman to visit China while the party held the presidency, if Chu headed the delegation it could be seen as a profound moment, as Chu might be nominated as the party’s candidate for next year’s presidential election, while President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) did not attend the forums during his time as party chairman from 2005 to 2007, prior to taking the top office in 2008.
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