China president to receive Taiwan ruling party chief
The head of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party plans to meet China’s President Xi Jinping next month, the first visit to Beijing by a KMT chief since 2008.
“A plan for a meeting of the two party leaders is being arranged,” said Eric Chu, the head of KMT and Taiwan's New Taipei City mayor, on Sunday, referring to President Xi in his capacity as the leader of China's ruling Communist party.
Chu came to power after defeating the embattled President Ma Ying-jeou as the chairperson of the party in January election.
He said details of the planned meeting have not yet been finalized, but according to local media, Chu would fly to Shanghai on May 2 and he would address the forum’s opening the following day. He also plans to speak to university students.
The first trip by a Taiwan KMT chief to China was made by Lien Chan in 2005, after 56 years. Ma headed the KMT from 2009 to 2014, but he never visited China.
The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement signed by the two sides in June 2010 has been considered widely as a major breakthrough in their relations.
In March 2014, about 200 students opposed a controversial services trade pact with China and occupied Taiwan’s parliament for more than three weeks, while thousands of students and civic groups took to the streets in support of the “Sunflower Movement,” a protest movement against the approval of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement (CSSTA) with China by the KMT.
In local polls conducted last November, the KMT saw its approval rate falling to its lowest due to its Beijing-friendly policy.
RS/KA/SS
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