Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) will ask Chinese authorities during his visit to China to remove missiles aimed at Taiwan, a KMT lawmaker said yesterday in Hong Kong.
Legislator Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), who is also a member of the KMT's Central Standing Committee, made the remarks after attending a forum on cross-strait relations.
To the best of his understanding, Wu said Lien would bring up four main topics during his trip.
First, Wu said, Lien will ask Chinese authorities to eliminate barriers to cross-strait cultural and commercial exchanges, such as exempting or reducing tariffs on agricultural and industrial imports from Taiwan.
Second, Wu said, Lien will urge Beijing not to block Taiwan's entry to the World Health Organization (WHO).
"For the sake of epidemic prevention, Taiwan must be included in the WHO-led global health care system. If China continues to block Taiwan's WHO bid, it will draw a backlash from the Taiwan people and hinder the development of cross-strait rapprochement," Wu said.
Third, Wu said, Lien will push China to relocate the hundreds of ballistic missiles deployed in Fujian Province that are targeting Taiwan.
"If China indeed wants to make peace with Taiwan, it should relocate or dismantle its missiles aimed at Taiwan. Otherwise, the people of Taiwan will have ill feelings and doubts about Beijing's sincerity," Wu said.
Lien will ask the Chinese authorities to allow Chinese citizens to make sightseeing trips to Taiwan to promote civilian exchanges and mutual understanding, Wu said.
He said the KMT is willing to do whatever is conducive to Taiwanese people's well-being and cross-strait peace.
Wu delivered a speech on new developments in cross-strait relations at the seminar, sponsored by a federation of Taiwanese business associations in the Asia-Pacific region.
Addressing hundreds of Hong Kong academics, experts and business executives at the seminar, Wu said Hong Kong should strengthen exchanges with Taiwan to maintain its pivotal role in cross-strait engagements.
Wu said he believes that Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai can strengthen cooperation in transshipment, trade, industrial investment and tourist development.
Meanwhile, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma said that he strongly believes that Lien will not sign any peace agreements with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Hu Jintao (
Stressing that Lien's visit is aimed at maintaining peace, Ma said that Lien will speak for the people of Taiwan while seeking to help lay a foundation for cross-strait peace.
Lien's visit, planned for early next month, will mark the first KMT-CCP contact in more than 60 years. He is slated to meet Hu in Beijing, in addition to making stops in Nanjing, Xi'an and Shanghai.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
RSS