P.K. Chiang, vice chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT), said in
Taipei Sunday that he will lead a 34-member KMT delegation to visit
the Chinese mainland for the purposes of recalling the past and
doing business.
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At a press conference in Taipei, capital city of China's Taiwan
Province, Chiang said he has visited the mainland twice in the
past, but that the imminent trip is more crucial because the
delegation will visit the tombs of "KMT martyrs" in Nanjing and
Guangzhou and the cenotaph of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the
KMT and pioneer of Chinese Democratic Revolution.
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The year 2005 is the 80th anniversary of the death of Dr. Sun
Yat-sen and the 94th anniversary of the Huanghuagang Uprising in
Guangzhou, Chiang said.
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The five decades division across the Taiwan Straits is ascribed to
the outcome of the civil war between the KMT and the Communist
Party of China (CPC) in late 1940s, Chiang acknowledged.
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The cross-straits tension in recent five years has "affected the
economy of Taiwan," Chiang said, adding he believed that friction
between the two sides should not continue and there must be a way
for reconciliation.
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"What the people of Taiwan need is a peaceful and happy life,
economic prosperity and more job opportunities, but it is
impossible for Taiwan to regain its past prosperity under the
current tension," Chiang said.
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The mainland's booming economy has impacted the whole world and the
East Asian Region, he said. Under this circumstance, he noted, it
is "the common aspiration of the Taiwan people" to revive the
economy of Taiwan as fast as possible through the cross-straits
exchanges.
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Chiang went on to say he hoped that his upcoming visit would help
simplify the procedure of cargo transportation and deal with other
issues of concern for Taiwan business people. Direct links of
trade, mail and air and shipping services across the Taiwan Straits
will be conducive for Taiwan's economy and are mutually beneficial
for the two sides, he said.
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KMT Chairman Lien Chan also addressed the press conference, at
which he reproached? "some people in Taiwan" for their
attempts to intensify the conflict across the Taiwan Straits. These
actions "may provoke a war," he said. As the political situation is
abnormal in Taiwan, the KMT wants to provide Taiwan people with one
more prospect and one more option, Lien said.
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Meanwhile, Lien called for using wisdom and resorting to still
greater efforts to help the people of Taiwan to face up and resolve
the true fundamental problems in Taiwan.
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According to a latest survey by a Taiwan company, 44.6 percent of
people questioned said they are in favor of KMT's mainland visit,
while 31.3 percent said they are in opposition to such a
visit.?
(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2005)
