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.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow