KMT honorary chairman arrives in Beijing

Lien Chan, honorary chairman of Taiwan's Kuomintang party, arrived in Beijing on Monday evening for a four-day visit to the Chinese mainland.

Lien, also chairman of a foundation on cross-Strait peaceful development, leads a delegation from the island to visit sites related to Beijing's urban construction and countryside.

Fan Liqing, spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, told reporters on Monday that Lien will meet Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and the delegation will attend a forum with their mainland peers.

In 2005, as KMT chairman, Lien met Hu Jintao, predecessor of Xi, in the first talks between leaders of the two parties in six decades.

Speculation stirs over Xi-Ma talks

Beijing said on Monday it remains "positive and open" about a possible meeting between leaders from both sides of the Taiwan Straits, but gave no clear venue or timeframe for what would be a historic meeting.

A Taiwan-affairs spokeswoman from the mainland made the remarks as recent high-level interactions across the Straits have stirred discussions of a possible meeting between Party chief Xi Jinping and Taiwan's leader, Ma Ying-jeou. >>>

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