KMT delegation heads to U.S. for talks with Trump officials

Taipei, Feb. 18 (CNA) Kuomintang (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) is leading a delegation from Taiwan's main opposition party to the United States to "directly communicate with core figures in the Trump administration," a party official said Tuesday.

Howard Shen (沈正浩), director of the KMT's U.S. representative office, said the delegation would work to ensure the Trump White House "correctly and deeply" understood the KMT's priorities, including diplomacy, national defense and cross-strait issues.

Asked for details of the delegation's itinerary, a KMT spokesperson told CNA that such information would not be made public for the time being "due to a mutual understanding between our party and the Trump administration."

"Regarding the development of relations between Taiwan and Washington and our party's work in the U.S., the visiting delegation will explain these matters to the media at an appropriate time in the future," the spokesperson added.

The "high-ranking" delegation to the U.S. will conduct "deep exchanges and comprehensive discussions" with members of the Trump government, the U.S. Congress and think tanks on bilateral priorities and other issues of mutual concern in the hope of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, according to a statement issued by the KMT.

Joining Hsia in the delegation is lawmaker Chen Yeong-kang (陳永康); National Sun Yat-sen University Professor Andrew Yang (楊念祖), and Alexander Huang (黃介正), the KMT's head of international affairs, the KMT said.

Victor Chin (秦日新), the KMT representative to the U.S., and Shen will accompany the delegation at their appointments in Washington, the party said.

Shen said that the inclusion of Hsia, Chen and Yang, all former vice defense ministers, as well as Chen, a member of the Legislative Yuan's Foreign and National Defense Committee, showed the importance KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) placed on security issues and relations with the U.S.