DPP members firm on joining forum in China

Fan Cheng-chung, a former chairman of the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA), and former Legislator Hsu Jung-shu, said they will definitely head for China to attend a forum between Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC) slated for July 11-12 in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province.

Questioned by reporters, Fan and Hsu, who were both invited by the CPC to take part in the forum, said they are still DPP members but do not hold any public office.

Fan at present is an advisor to President Ma Ying-jeou, while Hsu has gradually withdrawn from Taiwan's political scene.

Chuang Suo-hang, acting spokesman for the pro-independence DPP, said the two will be subject to party discipline if their words or behavior violate party regulations.

Chuang called the KMT-CPC forum a “united front” approach and accused it of going against “game rules in a democratic society,” as it will be held without being scrutinized by Taiwan's opposition parties or people.

“The DPP does not ban party members from taking part in civil activities in China nor does it encourage them to do so, but party members holding public office are required to report to party headquarters prior to any visits to China,” he explained.

DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen reportedly was going to raise a proposal Wednesday at a DPP meeting to discuss a planned ban on party members holding public office from taking part in the upcoming KMT-CPC forum, but it remained unclear whether general party members would be included in the ban.

However, KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih said it is even more dangerous for the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to remain in confrontation with each other over the long term and that it is “very natural” that DPP figures should be invited to attend activities in China amid improved two-way ties.

Taiwan's best interests will be served if Taiwan and China can maintain a peaceful course in the development of bilateral relations on the condition that the island's independent statehood and national dignity, as well as its stability and prosperity, remain intact, according to the KMT secretary-general.

Outgoing KMT Chairman Wu Po-hsiung will lead the delegation — that will include Fan and Hsu — that will take part in the KMT-CPC forum in Changsha.

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