Speaking on the eve of the party's first official delegation to visit China since 1949, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) said yesterday that the mission of the KMT is provide the people with alternatives in the face of worsening cross-strait tensions.
"As the nation's largest opposition party, it is the duty of the KMT to create alternate choices and visions for the people," Lien said. "We cannot stay silent and inactive when we see that a situation where a helpless administration sends us on a collision course [with China]."
"The KMT does not support Taiwanese independence, but we do not believe that China should react with military action ... both sides of the strait should increase their efforts to open dialogue and seek mutual benefits," Lien added.
Lien made the remarks yesterday morning to the 35-member delegation at the KMT headquarters.
The delegation is set to leave for China today.
The group, which is headed by KMT Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun (江丙坤), will spend five days in China. It will first go to the Mausoleum of the 72 Martyrs in Guangzhou on March 28 and then fly to Nanjing on March 29 to pay the party's respects to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing. The last two days of the trip will be spent in Beijing visiting the Sun Yat-sen monument in Xiangshan.
The trip, which was first made public by Lien Feb. 28, is being planned ostensibly to allow the KMT to commemorate the memory of its founder, Sun Yat-sen (孫中山) -- also founding father of the Republic of China -- on the 80th anniversary of Sun's death.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Chiang said that the delegation would be meeting with the Taiwanese businesspeople living in China, and, if given the chance, Chinese government officials.
However, he refused to discuss which government officials the delegation would be meeting.
Chiang also said that besides helping his party pay its respects to its founder, the trip also has economic goals.
While in China, said Chiang, he hopes to talk with Chinese officials about establishing three direct transportation links across the Taiwan Strait and about direct cargo charter flights.
Besides Chiang, the members of the delegation include office director Ting Yuan-chao (丁遠超), KMT spokesman Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭), KMT Secretary-General Huang Fu-tien (黃福田), party policy executive director Cheng Feng-shih (鄭逢時), culture and communications head Lai Su-chu (賴素如), and legislators Wu Sung-pi (吳松柏), Chao Erh-chung (曹爾忠), Yang Chung-ying (楊瓊櫻) and Chu Feng-chih (朱鳳芝).
Given that Chang, the KMT's former mainland affairs division head and current spokesman Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭), are also part of the delegation, local Chinese-language media speculated yesterday that the trip will pave the way for a trip by Lien to China in June.
When asked about the prospect, party officials, however, refused to comment.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS