Word: soong
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When opposition politicians James Soong and Lien Chan recently returned from successful bridge-building visits to China, there was every indication that Taiwan's combative President, Chen Shui-bian, and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would be solidly trounced in Saturday's National Assembly election. Chen, who opposes any talk of reunification with mainland China, had seen his popularity rating plunge to 39%, his lowest yet, in the fallout from Lien's and Soong's trips. But that number didn't count at the ballot box: the DPP was a surprise winner in the National Assembly poll, snagging...
...Independence is not the choice of Taiwanese people." JAMES SOONG, leader of Taiwan's opposition People First Party, at the beginning of his nine-day visit to mainland China intended to build a "bridge of trust" between the two governments...
...about the international news coverage?because it emphasized that Taiwan was not united behind Lien's visit. "He is cooperating with the Communists to downgrade the President's legitimacy and power," she said. And Lien is not the only controversial pilgrim: next week, Hu will welcome to Beijing James Soong, a former KMT bigwig who broke away in 1999 and nowadays is head of the People First Party, the island's third largest...
...China, visits from Lien and Soong are no-losers: it gives away nothing but a few rounds of toasts and, in return, gets top Taiwan politicians to come and affirm the goal of eventual unification. Beijing also managed to appear graceful toward its so-called renegade province just six weeks after the passage of an antisecession law that commits it to war if Taiwan declares independence. (Washington was a booster of the Lien visit, but also urged Beijing to "reach out" to President Chen...
...while playing host to Lien and Soong, Hu undoubtedly kept an eye on CNN and the BBC to see the kind of ruckus the visits are creating for Chen and the KMT at home. "Taiwan has always been divided over the issue of how to deal with China," says Joseph Wu, chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, Taiwan's top policymaking body on mainland issues. "China knows this. In [inviting Lien to China], it creates internal problems." Professor Lee Si-kuen, a professor of political science at National Taiwan University (and a KMT member), calls Lien's trip "the wrong...