On November 19, Taiwan's Kuomintang Party (KMT) Chairman Ma
Ying-jeou criticized the island's leader Chen Shui-bian for
blocking a visit by Chen Yunlin, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the
State Council, according to a Taiwan media report.
Ma said he was sorry to see the Taiwan authorities decline
Chen's entry application.
To break cross-Straits deadlock, he added, one side must first
have a sincere and friendly attitude. Ma also stressed that Taiwan
should keep cross-Straits relations moving forward because the
relationship between Beijing and Taipei is not the same as it was a
decade ago.
"In the long run, I think the deadlocked relationship across the
Straits is not doing Taiwan any good," Ma said.
Chen Yunlin was invited by the KMT to attend a high-level forum
between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and KMT in
mid-December.
Chen Shui-bian said at a campaign rally in Hsinchuang City on
Friday night that he would not allow Chen Yunlin to visit
Taiwan.
He said that since Beijing did not allow the island's envoy,
Wang Jin-pyng, to attend the APEC meeting in South Korea, Chen
Yunlin should not even think about setting foot on Taiwan.
Lien Chan, the retired KMT chairman, told Singapore newspaper
Lianhe Zaobao that Chen Shui-bian is an "irresponsible
person."
Lien said the forum is an unofficial meeting and refusing Chen
Yunlin's visit shows that the Taiwan authorities want to "create
difficulties" for cross-Straits unofficial exchanges.
This forum will discuss agricultural and financial cooperation
and the establishment of three direct links in business, transport
and postal services, said Li Weiyi, spokesperson for the Taiwan
Affairs Office last week.
(China Daily November 21, 2005)