Taiwan opposition leader to visit China

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The leader of Taiwan's opposition Nationalists will hold talks with China's top leader in Beijing, the first such meeting since China was split by civil war a half century ago, party officials said Wednesday.

The trip by party leader Lien Chan has drawn protest from Taiwan's ruling party, which has charged the Nationalists are playing into the hands of the communist mainland in its efforts to divide the Taiwanese people.

The party announced Lien's schedule for the trip but didn't disclose topics for his April 29 session with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

"(The meeting) will produce a large and significant influence on Taiwan and on peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," party official Lin Feng-cheng told reporters.

A visit to China last month by Lien's deputy was harshly criticized by the government of President Chen Shui-bian. This time, the government has warned that Lien could face treason charges if he signs pacts with China.

The visit will be the first time that the leaders of Nationalist and Communist parties have met since the two fought a civil war that ended with Taiwan and China splitting in 1949.

It comes during surging tensions over China's new law authorizing an attack if Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, tries to make its de facto independence permanent.

The two sides have no official relations, though trade and travel between them are soaring.

The Nationalists and communists share a desire to eventually unite Taiwan with the mainland and a dislike for Chen.

The Nationalist party previously said that Lien would visit China but on Wednesday announced the first details of the one-week, four-city trip.

Lien's itinerary also includes the grave of Nationalist Party founder Sun Yat-sen in Nanjing, his birthplace and the international business center of Shanghai, where he will meet Taiwanese investors, officials said.

In Beijing, Lien will first hold a speech for students at the city's Beijing University with a question-and-answer session for students before meeting Hu, party official Lin Feng-cheng said.