In what the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition party, termed as “frank” meetings, a senior member of the party shared with a top Chinese official Taiwanese citizens’ worries over Beijing’s war exercises taking place close to the island.
China, which asserts democratically-run Taiwan as its own territory, has been conducting massive military exercises close to the island to vent its resentment over U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent trip to Taipei.
Reuters, August 25, Taipei – In what the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition party, termed as “frank” meetings, a senior member of the party shared with a top Chinese official Taiwanese citizens’ worries over Beijing’s war exercises taking place close to the island.
China, which asserts democratically-run Taiwan as its own territory, has been conducting massive military exercises close to the island to vent its resentment over U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent trip to Taipei.
The head of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, a quasi-official body that manages relations with Taiwan, Zhang Zhijun, was met by KMT Deputy Chairman Andrew Hsia on Wednesday night after Hsia arrived in China for what his party claimed was a pre-planned visit to the Taiwanese business community.
Hsia has received criticism from Taiwan’s government over his timing, and some top KMT figures have expressed doubts about the journey.
The KMT issued a statement following the meeting in the city of Kunshan, in eastern China, saying that Deputy Chairman Hsia had stated that he intended to represent Taiwan’s public sentiment and shouldn’t hold back.
It said, “The primary goal was to express the displeasure and concerns of the Taiwanese people on the mainland military’s ongoing exercises in the waters surrounding Taiwan.”
The KMT described the dinnertime meeting as an open discussion between the two sides.
Zhang, who once served as the director of the Taiwan Affairs Office, reportedly described the current state as one of “stress and chaos.”
The appropriate actions we have implemented are a necessary step to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity, to stifle and battle “Taiwan independence” splitism, and to protect national security.
China’s claims of sovereignty are rejected by Taiwan’s government, which maintains that only the island’s residents have the authority to make such decisions.
The KMT has historically supported tight ties with China, while having denounced Beijing’s war games.
Reuters, August 25, Taipei – In what the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition party, termed as “frank” meetings, a senior member of the party shared with a top Chinese official Taiwanese citizens’ worries over Beijing’s war exercises taking place close to the island.
China, which asserts democratically-run Taiwan as its own territory, has been conducting massive military exercises close to the island to vent its resentment over U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent trip to Taipei.
The head of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, a quasi-official body that manages relations with Taiwan, Zhang Zhijun, was met by KMT Deputy Chairman Andrew Hsia on Wednesday night after Hsia arrived in China for what his party claimed was a pre-planned visit to the Taiwanese business community.
Hsia has received criticism from Taiwan’s government over his timing, and some top KMT figures have expressed doubts about the journey.
The KMT issued a statement following the meeting in the city of Kunshan, in eastern China, saying that Deputy Chairman Hsia had stated that he intended to represent Taiwan’s public sentiment and shouldn’t hold back.
The first objective was to express the discontent and concerns of the Taiwanese people on the mainland military’s ongoing exercises in the waters around Taiwan, according to the statement.
The KMT described the dinnertime meeting as an open discussion between the two sides.
Zhang, who once served as the director of the Taiwan Affairs Office, reportedly described the current state as one of “stress and chaos.”
According to Xinhua, “the appropriate actions we have taken are a just move to preserve national sovereignty and territorial integrity, restrict and oppose ‘Taiwan independence’ splitism, and combat foreign intervention.”
China’s claims of sovereignty are rejected by Taiwan’s government, which maintains that only the island’s residents have the authority to make such decisions.
The KMT has historically supported tight ties with China, while having denounced Beijing’s war games.
After losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s Communist Party, the KMT controlled China before fleeing to Taiwan in 1949 together with the defeated Republic of China government.
