There is nothing more important than defending national dignity, the Presidential Office said yesterday, urging the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to reconsider whether to attend a forum in China later this month.
The comment by Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) came in the wake of a Chinese state-owned broadcaster describing the planned visit by a delegation led by former Legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) of the KMT to an annual cross-strait cooperation forum as “suing for peace.”
The KMT announced on Tuesday last week that Wang would lead the party’s delegation to the forum, which is to starts on Sept. 19, in Xiamen, China.
On Thursday last week, a headline shown by China Central Television, a mouthpiece of the Chinese government, during a program hosted by Li Hong (李紅) read: “With the [Taiwan] Strait on the brink of war, this man [Wang] is coming to the mainland to sue for peace.”
Following the broadcast, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said that the description was unacceptable and called for an apology from the TV station, while some within the party said that the party should consider boycotting the forum.
Chiang said that the KMT should carefully deliberate on the matter, highlighting that “there is nothing more important than defending the dignity of Taiwanese people and the nation.”
Separately yesterday, following a closed-door meeting of party officials, including Chiang and KMT Secretary-General Lee Chien-lung (李乾龍), Wang said that the party would make a final decision tonight on whether to attend the cross-strait forum.
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