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Former Taiwan premier Frank Hsieh on Monday announced plans to visit the mainland, a trip that would make him the most senior politician from the Beijing-sceptic opposition party to make such a visit.
The trip, described by local media as “ice-breaking”, came amid debate in the party about whether to change its Beijing policy.
Hsieh, who was premier from 2005 to 2006 and retains major influence in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), told reporters he would leave on Thursday.
“The purpose of the trip is to build mutual trust,” said Hsieh, declining to say if he would meet government officials during the five-day visit.
Hsieh’s first stop will be the southeastern coastal city of Xiamen, followed by a visit to nearby Dongshan Island where his ancestors lived before immigrating to Taiwan.
Later, the trip will take him to Beijing, where he plans to visit the Olympic stadium and attend an international cocktail contest as a guest of the International Bartenders Association.
Voters in January re-elected President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang party, endorsing the Beijing-friendly policies he has pursued since he took office in 2008.
Since then, leading DPP members have debated whether their party needs to change its Beijing policy, in part to reflect Beijing’s fast-expanding regional and global influence.
“The DPP should face the reality of [the mainland’s] rise...if the DPP keeps refusing to change its position and let the Kuomintang and the Chinese communist parties work hand in hand, I’m afraid the DPP will never be able to get back into power,” Hsieh said.
Hsu Yung-ming, a political science professor at Taipei’s Soochow University, said that “although the party authorities have not decided to amend their [Beijing] policy at the moment, the results of the visit could be used as a key reference in the future”.
Tensions between Taipei and Beijing soared in the eight years to 2008 when then-president Chen Shui-bian of the DPP repeatedly ruffled Beijing’s feathers.


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Taiwan ex-PM Frank Hsieh plans ‘ice-breaking’ Beijing visit

Former Taiwanese premier Frank Hsieh said on Monday: “The purpose of the [mainland] trip is to build mutual trust.” Photo: AFP

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