Ma-Xi meeting aimed at welfare of next generation: president

Taipei, Nov. 5 (CNA) President Ma ying-jeou (馬英九) said Thursday that his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is not aimed at boosting the floundering Kuomintang (KMT) in the runup to Taiwan's presidential election next January, but at ensuring the welfare of the next generation.

Ma said that the meeting with Xi is positive for both Taiwan and mainland China, and is not aimed at the election chances of the KMT, which has been lagging behind the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party in pre-election polls.

Ma made the remarks at an international press conference on the upcoming meeting, the first meeting of the leaders on each side of the Taiwan Strait in 66 years.

The decision is not aimed at boosting the flagging KMT election campaign but "out of the hope of making the first step toward making exchanges between leaders on both sides of the Taiwan Strait on a regular basis," Ma said.

(By Claudia Liu and Lilian Wu)ENDITEM/J

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