The itinerary of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) upcoming visit to China will be released today, KMT Secretary-General Lin Feng-cheng (林豐正) said yesterday after lengthy discussions with high-ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials in Beijing.
The KMT will announce the itinerary at the weekly meeting of its policy-making Central Standing Committee, Lin said, adding that the Beijing-based Taiwan Affairs Office under the State Council will also issue a statement today, now that Lien's itinerary has been fixed.
Lin, who arrived home last night, said that his talks with Taiwan Affairs Office Director Chen Yunlin (
Reiterating that Lien will do his utmost to protect Taiwan's dignity, seek benefits for the people of Taiwan and make peace in the Strait when he meets Chinese President Hu Jintao (
The KMT will staunchly safeguard the interests of the Republic of China that it founded 95 years ago, he said, but denied speculation that the KMT is preparing to sign a truce agreement with the CCP.
He also said that "everyone" is welcome to join forces to build peace and create benefits for the people on both sides, referring to the latest development that Hu also extended an invitation to People First Party Chairman James Soong (
The KMT official arrived in Beijing on Monday to arrange Lien's visit to China, where he will make stops in Nanjing, Shanghai, Xi'an and Beijing. Lien is slated to meet CCP General-Secretary Hu in Beijing, marking a KMT-CCP encounter unprecedented in more than 60 years amid long-standing hostility between the two political parties.
Meanwhile, more than 100 reporters with Taiwan's media organizations have applied to cover Lien's visit to China, the KMT said.
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,
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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