Lien Chan, honorary chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT), will attend the military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3, the Taiwan-based United Daily News reported Thursday. [Special coverage]
He will spend four or five days on the Chinese mainland and attend other events that Beijing is holding to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, as well as the World Anti-Fascist War.
Lien is also expected to meet Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. It will be the third meeting between the two leaders, following their previous two meetings, in 2013 and 2014.
According to Chang Jung-Kung, former deputy secretary-general of the KMT, Lien decided to attend the commemorative events in a bid to celebrate the victory of the war and promote peace across the Taiwan Straits.
Chang stressed that Lien will be visiting Beijing as an individual, not as KMT honorary chairman.
Lien was born in Xi'an City in northwest China in 1936, one year before Japan staged a full-scale invasion of China. His given name "Chan" means "battles" in Chinese.
