Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman-elect Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday had lunch with KMT legislators at Taipei’s Fullon Hotel, where he said that he would endorse the so-called “1992 consensus,” amid speculation that outgoing KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) would attend this month’s annual cross-strait forum between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the CCP that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means. Former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) said in 2006 that he had made up the term in 2000.
Responding to media queries over the possibility of carrying out the KMT leadership handover sooner than scheduled, Wu said that the issue was being negotiated by three of his aides and KMT Secretary-General Mo Tian-hu (莫天虎).
Asked whether he — rather than Hung — is to attend the forum, Wu said that he had no preconceived notions on the issue, adding that logistics for the forum would be planned according to usual practice.
In reference to rumors that the KMT caucus has had a falling-out with its headquarters, KMT legislative caucus convener Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) said that the party is an integral whole that does not allow rifts between its legislative caucus and its headquarters, adding that the KMT would do its best to monitor the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
He urged the KMT headquarters to respond to the majority of KMT supporters’ expectations and carry out the leadership handover as soon as possible.
“The sooner, the better,” caucus secretary-general Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said when asked to comment on the transition.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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