Report on Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung’s Visit to Mainland China

Report on Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung’s Visit to Mainland China

Wu Den-yi
KMT Secretary General
June 04, 2008

Accepting an invitation from Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung led a 15-member delegation to pay a visit to Mainland China from May 26th to 31st. The delegation was well-received and the mission was accomplished.

The itinerary included Nanjing, Beijing, Shanghai, and Yixing. There were five purposes for the trip. The first was to conduct the first Summit between Chairman Wu and Hu Jintao of the CPP, leaders of the two ruling parties on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Secondly, Chairman Wu and the delegation paid homage to the Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founder and National President of the Kuomingtang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party), to report on the KMT’s returning to power in Taiwan after an eight-year endeavor. Thirdly, the delegation visited the venues of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and wished the Mainland success in the Games. Fourthly, the delegation met with many Taiwanese businessmen on the Chinese Mainland, and expressed the KMT’s thanks and appreciation for their unreserved support during the legislative and Presidential elections this year. Finally, the delegation went to the Ta-chuei Temple to mourn for the victims in the Sichuan Earthquake. The delegation’s activities were widely reported around the world, often with live coverage, and the trip heralded a new era of dialogue, reconciliation, peaceful co-existence, and mutual prosperity in terms of cross-Strait relations.

The Mainland authorities treated the delegation with the highest respect. When the delegation arrived in Nanjing on the first leg of the journey, the authorities were gracious enough to prepare a platform for Chairman Wu to address the media. A similar platform was prepared in Beijing on the second leg of the journey and again before leaving Shanghai for Taiwan. Guided by Chairman Wu, members of the delegation expressed their grief over the deaths of victims of the earthquake in Sichuan Province. The delegation’s sincere grief touched the hearts of people throughout the world.

When visiting Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum, every member of the delegation was deeply touched by the sight of the twenty-four characters engraved on the memorial tablet: “The Kuomintang of China buries its National President Dr. Sun here, the 18th year of the Republic of China”. Inlaid in the ceiling above Dr Sun’s sarcophagus was the flag of the Kuomintang, the largest Nationalist flag remaining on the Mainland. The sight of the flag stirred poignant emotions. To show the strong determination to follow Dr. Sun’s teachings and practice democratic politics, Chairman Wu wrote a couplet for all to see which read: “All under Heaven belongs to the people; people are the most important (天下為公、人民最大)”.

The talks between heads of the Kuomintang of China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Wu-Hu meeting, attracted the attention of Chinese people on both sides of the Strait and the international community. At the beginning of the meeting, they reiterated the KMT-CCP joint press communique of these years ago regarding “Five-point Common Vision for Cross-Strait Peaceful Development” and also reaffirmed that the dialogue between the Straits Exchange Foundation and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait would be resumed, reestablishing institutional negotiations across the Strait which had been placed on hold for nine years. The Wu-Hu meeting denotes a historic step toward peaceful, stable, and forward-looking cross-Strait relations. The two sides also reached a consensus on co-hosting a Cross-Strait Economic Trade Forum or Peace Forum.

Since the Mainland authorities have high expectations for the Beijing Olympic Games, Chairman Wu visited the Olympic venues in person to express his best wishes for the Games and hoped that athletes from both sides of the Straits would do well. In addition, Chairman Wu accepted General-Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Hu Jintao’s invitation to attend the Games’s opening ceremony and watch sporting events.

To thank supporters of the KMT during the Presidential election, Chairman Wu hosted an austere supper for Taiwan businessmen in Shanghai. Under the instructions of Chairman Wu, boxed dinners were served, and no liquor was offered during the party as a sign of respect for the somber atmosphere in society due to the Sichuan earthquake. Approximately 300 Taiwan businessmen joined the event, including the presidents of Taiwan Business Associations in the Mainland. Those who joined the occassion had high expectations for the amelioration of cross-Strait relations now that the KMT had returned to power.

Later, Chairman Wu and his delegation went to Ta-chuei Temple in Yixing to pay homage to Buddha. While there he recited sutras in memory of the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. The scene was touching. Chairman Wu’s visit clearly demonstrated that people on both sides are emotionally bonded together by the Chinese nation, which is also the solid foundation for peace across the Strait.

The historic visit was conducted on the dawn of a new era in relations across the Strait since the KMT came back to power on May 20. President Ma received members of the delegation before their departure and on their return to Taiwan. Honorary Chairman Lien Chan saw the delegation off at the airport. Such acts demonstrated the will of the Nationalist Party and the government to improve cross-Strait relations and to give Taiwan people a safe and happy living environment. The mission of the delegation was accomplished, but the Party will never waver in its efforts to strive for the greater good. The Party pledges never to disappoint the people of Taiwan.

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