There is no need for Taiwan to “pick a side” between the US and China, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said yesterday, adding that while the former is a friend, the latter is "family."
Speaking at a meeting of the KMT's Central Standing Committee, Cheng said a friend once told her that the "United States was our benefactor, but the mainland is our family."
The Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name) would “not forget the friendship of the United States after World War II, because we are not ungrateful people," Cheng said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
At the same time, "the mainland is our family, and we won't be involved in an internecine struggle," she said.
"We don't need to pick a side between the United States and China," Cheng said. "Cross-strait reconciliation can bring about cooperation between the US and China."
Cheng's comments followed an announcement yesterday by the KMT that it would send a delegation to Beijing from Monday through Wednesday next week for an official think tank exchange with the Chinese Communist Party, aimed at fostering constructive cross-strait interaction.
The delegation would be led by Deputy KMT Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑), and would include Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源), deputy chair of the KMT's National Policy Foundation think tank, as well as about 40 experts and academics, the party said.
Asked about the possibility of the KMT chair meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) this year, Cheng said there is no need for speculation.
A public announcement would be made immediately if such a meeting was confirmed, she added.
Before British Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday arrived in Beijing for a state visit, he said that "there is no need [for the UK] to choose between the US and China," Cheng said.
The same is true for Taiwan, she said.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
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