A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) delegation is slated to depart for China on Monday to pay homage to KMT patriarch Sun Yat-sen (
The KMT confirmed yesterday that former deputy legislative speaker and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) heavyweight Chiang Pin-kun (
KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
It is believed that the delegation might also have plans to visit Beijing, as the trip comes on the heels of Beijing's recent passage of the "Anti-Secession" Law, legislation that China believes authorizes the use of "non-peaceful means" against Taiwan. The delegation's departure will also come just two days after a March 26 rally protesting the Anti-Secession Law.
KMT spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (
She said that KMT spokesman Chang Jung-kung (
Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) also said yesterday that it had not been in contact with the KMT regarding the visit, according to a report in Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po.
An unnamed TAO official was quoted in the report as saying that the office had learned of the trip from media reports only.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the government agency responsible for the nation's China policy, has refrained from commenting on the KMT's trip. Following the passage of the Anti-Secession Law, the council has said on several occasions that it would not impose any restrictions on those wishing to travel to China, but added that anyone who visits China does so at their own risk.
While the KMT has made clear that the main purpose of its impending trip is to mark the death of Sun, the party has in the past sent delegations to China to discuss state affairs.
The KMT had sent a delegation to Beijing and met with TAO officials just as cross-strait dialogue on Lunar New Year charter flights got underway.
At the time, while a trip to China by the government-authorized Taipei Airlines Association had been shrouded in secrecy, the KMT delegation was given a high profile welcome.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RSS