Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) is to lead a delegation to China tomorrow to take part in a two-day conference in Jiangxi Province, the party said yesterday.
The visit aims to foster cross-strait cultural and economic exchange, it said in a statement.
KMT Mainland Affairs Department head Lin Chu-chia (林祖嘉) and representatives from the commercial sector would also be in the delegation, it said.
Photo: CNA
The cross-strait conference on economics, trade and cultural exchange is a regular activity that is of great value to the commercial industry, the KMT said.
Unofficial exchanges help avoid escalation, especially during a time of tense relations across the Taiwan Strait, it said.
Hsia is to travel to China’s Guiyang for a similar conference on Monday next week, while KMT Secretary-General Justin Huang (黃健庭) is to visit Shandong for a separate exchange activity on Tuesday, the party said.
Meanwhile, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday told a news conference about US-China ties that the party hopes regional tensions could be eased through dialogue with Beijing.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan arrived in the Chinese capital on Tuesday to meet with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅).
The New York Times on Tuesday reported that the meeting “could lay the groundwork for one last summit between [Chinese President] Mr Xi [Jinping, 習近平] and [US President] Mr [Joe] Biden.”
Comparing Sullivan’s visit to the KMT’s policy of rapprochement with China, Chu said that the party “resolves issues, including the Kinmen incident and cross-strait tourism, through exchanges and dialogue,” referring to the drowning deaths of two Chinese fishers whose boat capsized in waters near Kinmen County on Feb. 14 while being pursued by a Coast Guard Administration vessel.
Chu compared his party’s approach to China with that of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), saying that the DPP does not want to communicate with Beijing.
The DPP relied on the US and the KMT to hold exchanges and dialogue with China in its place while gaining political benefits through conflict with China, he said.
“The DPP is engaged in resistance, replacing dialogue with confrontation and using that confrontation as a political cash machine,” he said.
However, issues between Taiwan and China could not be solved solely through the US’ strategic dialogue with Beijing, he said.
Hsia’s and Huang’s visits “are very important forums for Taiwanese businesspeople, and important opportunities for cross-strait exchanges and dialogue,” he said. “The DPP is full of malicious criticism, but the KMT will always insist on doing the right thing and seeking the best interests of Taiwanese.”
Chu also commented on the government’s budget for next year, which hit a record NT$3.13 trillion (US$97.97 billion) , including a defense budget of NT$647 billion, or 2.45 percent of GDP.
“No matter how high the general budget and defense budget are, Taiwan’s security cannot be ensured without exchanges and dialogue,” he said, adding that the KMT would “strictly supervise the budget” at next week’s legislative session.
When the DPP had a legislative a majority, it approved unnecessary spending, including “improper purchases” and wasteful use of public funds, he said.
“The KMT would strongly supervise the legislature and will not allow anyone’s hard-earned money to be wasted,” he added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS