Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) is leading a 200-strong delegation to attend a high-level forum between the KMT and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) today in Guangzhou, China.
Among the politicians accepting invitations to join the trip were former People First Party (PFP) legislator Chiu Chung-liang (邱創良), who joined the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2007.
Former DPP legislator Hsu Jung-shu (許榮淑) and former Council of Agriculture chairman Fan Chen-tsung (范振宗) will also attend the three-day forum, which closes on Sunday.
Hsu said she would attend the event as the chairperson of the People United Party, shrugging off concerns over her pan-green background.
Chiu, on the other hand, said he had been invited by Hsu to attend the forum.
However, he said that he would respect the DPP’s decision when asked about DPP opposition to party members attending the forum.
DPP WARNING
DPP Taoyuan chapter director Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) yesterday said Chiu has not been very active on Taiwan’s political scene recently and had joined the People United Party.
If Chiu still holds DPP membership, he would be dealt with according to party regulations, Cheng said.
The KMT-CCP forum was initiated by former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) during a visit to China in 2005.
It has been a major communication platform between the KMT and the CCP since before the KMT regained power in 2008.
The DPP has condemned the unofficial KMT exchanges with China and it has banned its own officials from attending the KMT-CCP forums.
It revoked party memberships for Hsu and Fan after they attended a KMT-CPP forum last year.
MA’S SEND-OFF
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman, met with Wu and the rest of the delegation at the Presidential Office yesterday.
He lauded the KMT-CPP forums for serving as a great venue for cross-strait exchanges.
He said he expected the delegation to further enhance cross-strait economic exchanges in the wake of the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with Beijing.
“The KMT-CCP forum has made great contributions in promoting cross-strait relations, and we expect the forum to continue promoting economic, cultural and educational exchanges between the two sides,” Ma said.
Wu and the delegation will attend the forum tomorrow and Sunday.
Wu is expected to visit Beijing after the forum and meet Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) to discuss cross-strait cooperation following the signing of the ECFA.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty