Fulfilling his family obligations at last, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
"This moment is an unforgettable one for the Lien family... Sixty-some years is a long time; in the past, there was no way to come here to pay my respects. I am moved and grateful for this moment," Lien said yesterday.
Accompanied by his wife Lien Fang Yu (
Speaking in Taiwanese, Lien said that visiting his grandmother's grave for the first time since his departure from China made all of the bitterness and sadness of the past 60-some years well up in his heart.
Yesterday was the first time that Lien family members had been back to sweep his grandmother's grave since his family left for Taiwan, Lien said.
After sweeping his grandmother's grave in the afternoon, Lien and his accompanying delegation flew to Shanghai, where he will spend two days.
According to a CNA report yesterday, Lien is scheduled to meet with Wang, the chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, this morning, after which he will meet with local Taiwanese businessmen.
Lien is scheduled to return to the nation tomorrow. Many fear a bloody encounter, reminiscent of the violence seen at the airport during Lien's departure for China on April 26.
Wang, currently hospitalized, reportedly will leave his hospital room to meet with Lien at a nearby hotel for talks, probably on issues including the so-called "1992 consensus" -- that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait hold different interpretations on the definition of "one China."
Wang met with Taiwan's top negotiator with China, Koo Chen-fu (
Koo and Wang met again in 1998 in Shanghai, known as the second "Koo-Wang" talks, but their third meeting never came about after former president Lee Teng-hui (Lee Teng-hui) redefined "cross-strait relations" as special "state-to-state" relations in 1999, whereupon Beijing closed its door to dialogue with Taiwan, accusing Lee of promoting Taiwan independence.
Koo died at the age of 88 in March.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition