KMT vice chair heads for U.S. trip

Taipei, April 4 (CNA) Kuomintang (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) left Taiwan for a 10-day visit to the United States Thursday as part of the party's efforts to strengthen ties with Washington.

Speaking with reporters at Taoyuan International Airport, Hsia did not reveal the details of his trip, saying only that he would meet with many "old friends" in Washington as well as KMT members in San Francisco.

However, Hsia denied his sojourn aimed to provide a counterweight to former President 's (馬英九) ongoing visit to China, stating that the timing was "purely coincidental."

The KMT has consistently maintained the policy pursued during Ma's presidency of "being close to the U.S., friendly to Japan and in harmony with China," Hsia added.

Hsia said it had been some time since he had visited the U.S., adding that he would seek to demonstrate the party's emphasis on its relations with Washington during the trip.

In a press statement Wednesday, the KMT said that Hsia and Alexander Huang (黃介正), head of the party's International Affairs Department, had been invited by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to attend the Washington-based think tank's U.S.-Japan-Taiwan Track 2 trilateral tabletop exercises.

Hsia will also call on Taiwanese expatriates in San Francisco and Washington, the KMT said, adding that U.S. government officials and friends at U.S. think tanks had both invited him for talks after learning of his upcoming visit.

The KMT said that it has continued to beef up its party diplomacy after Taiwan's presidential and legislative elections in January. Hsia's U.S. trip follows a visit by KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) to Singapore in February.

Hsia is scheduled to return to Taiwan on April 15.