Banquets held in honor of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) during her US trip are open only to Taiwanese expatriates, and non-Taiwanese attendees are there at the invitation of Taiwanese expatriates, the party said yesterday.
The KMT released the statement after Taiwan Statebuilding Party Taipei city councilor candidate Wu Hsin-tai (吳欣岱) on Sunday raised questions about a photograph posted on Cheng’s Facebook page showing her in Boston at the same table with Chinese national Gary Yu (俞國梁), who reportedly has recruited people in the US to support China’s “united front” work against Taiwan.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) earlier yesterday said that Cheng, the chairwoman of the nation’s largest opposition party, has stooped so low that she is willing to be a “special envoy” for Chinese President Xi Jing-ping (習近平) and a “mouthpiece” for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Photo: Screen grab from Chen Li-wun’s Facebook page
The KMT said that Yu was not on the guest list compiled by the party’s Boston chapter, which hosted the banquet. Yu was at the banquet at the invitation of Taiwanese expatriates participating in the banquet, it added.
Cheng did not dine with Yu and only took a group photo with him and other guests when she toasted guests at different tables, it said.
All banquets that are on Cheng’s two-week itinerary are hosted by KMT chapters, and attendance is strictly limited to Taiwanese expatriates and Taiwanese expatriate organizations, the KMT said.
Participants who are not Taiwanese must be invited by Taiwanese expatriates, the party said, adding that it is inappropriate to speculate or make unwarranted associations.
In addressing Taiwanese expatriates in New York on Sunday evening, Cheng praised former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for contributing to cross-strait peace and prosperity, while accusing the DPP government of poisoning relations with China in the past 10 years and making the Taiwan Strait one of the most dangerous places on Earth.
Cheng said that risks of a cross-strait conflict have risen because of what she described as President William Lai’s (賴清德) new “two-state theory,” adding that the KMT must step up to show the world that peace across the Taiwan Strait is still possible, she said.
The differences between Taiwan and China can be resolved by returning to the so-called “1992 consensus,” opposing Taiwanese independence and recognizing that both sides belong to one China, she said.
The cooperation of the US, China and Taiwan can free Taiwan from potential conflicts and is in the best interest of all parties involved, including East Asian countries, she said.
The “1992 consensus” — a term that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
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