'Dignity' most important in cross-strait exchanges: presidential office

Taipei, Sept. 13 (CNA) There is nothing more important than defending national dignity, a Presidential Office spokesman said Sunday, urging the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) to reconsider whether to attend a forum in China later this month.

The comment by Xavier Chang (張惇涵) came in the wake of a Chinese state-owned broadcaster describing the planned visit by former Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) of the KMT to the cross-Taiwan Strait forum as "suing for peace."

The KMT should carefully deliberate on the matter, because "there is nothing more important than defending the dignity of Taiwanese people and the nation," Chang said in answer to a reporter's question about the Chinese comment on Wang's visit.

The KMT announced last week that Wang would lead the party's delegation to the annual forum on cross-strait affairs, which starts on Sept. 19 in Xiamen, Fujian Province, amid a lack of dialogue between Taiwan and China.

However, the announcement received an unexpected response from China Central Television (CCTV), a mouthpiece of the Chinese government.

The headline "With the strait on the brink of war, this man (Wang) is coming to the mainland to sue for peace," appeared on a CCTV program on cross-strait affairs hosted by Li Hong (李紅) Thursday.

Following the broadcast, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said that the party does not rule out any possibility in addressing the issue, while demanding an apology from Beijing.

Meanwhile, a high-level KMT official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told CNA on Saturday that the party is considering boycotting the forum should CCTV refuse to apologize over its "sue for peace" headline.

On Sunday, following a closed-door meeting with Chiang and KMT Secretary-General Lee Chien-lung (李乾龍), Wang said the party will make a final decision Monday evening on whether to attend the Xiamen forum, while declining to divulge more about what was discussed at the meeting.