After the new chairman is elected, the whole Kuomintang (KMT) party will consistently carry out and press ahead with the policy drawn up by chairman Lien Chan during his term, stressed Chang Jung-kung, director KMT's Culture and Communication Committee, in Taipei.

According to Taiwan media, Chang Jung-kung said he is really not worried that the KMT's mainland policy would change once the new chairman takes the post. "Both candidates -- Wang Jyn-pyng and Ma Ying-jeou -- had promised to carry on the course of mainland policy set by chairman Lien", said Chang.

Chang Jung-kung said the joint communique reached at meeting between chairman Lien Chan and Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), during Lien's visit to Beijing will be included in a resolution and will become KMT's political guiding principle and policy. Therefore, "we think the whole party will consistently carry out and press ahead with the policy drawn up by chairman Lien Chan," said Chang.

After the election, chairman Lien will continue to play an important role in KMT's mainland policy, said Chang. "There is not doubt about it". He said Wang and Ma had both asked chairman Lien before the election to be honorary chairman and both of them had said at the KMT central standing committee that they support the joint communique reached at the Hu-Lien meeting. Therefore, Chang said that he believes the new KMT chairman will continue the direction of chairman Lien's mainland policy.

Lien Chan will remain the board chairman of the KMT's think tank after his retirement, said Chang. The think tank will continue its important role in the forum part of the KMT-CPC exchange platform, therefore the KMT will stick to his mainland policy after chairman Lien retires.

By People's Daily Online