BEIJING - Xi Jinping, re-elected general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Wednesday, said the CPC and Kuomintang (KMT) Party should contribute to the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." Xi's comment was in response to KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih congratulating him on his election for a second term. In his congratulatory message, Wu said that with joint efforts from the two parties, cross-Strait relations have changed from tense opposition to peaceful development. Wu said he hoped the KMT and the CPC can further adhere to the 1992 Consensus, deepen mutual trust and enhance cooperation in order to make new progress of peaceful development across the Strait. In reply, Xi expressed hopes that the two parties would keep in mind the well-being of compatriots across the Strait and the interests of the Chinese nation. He said the two parties should consolidate the existing political foundations, increase mutual trust and strengthen cooperation, to make contributions to the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." Xi said that since 2005, the two parties have brought about the peaceful development of relations across the Strait on a common political basis of both adhering to the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence," which has benefited people on both sides of the Strait. People First Party Chairman James Soong and New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming, among others in Taiwan, also sent congratulatory messages to Xi. cheap silicone wristbands ukpersonalised rubber wristbandsuv braceletslap wristbandswristbands onlinecheap rubber wristbands202mm to inchescustom wrist sweatbands
SEOUL - South Korean residents and peace activists on Thursday demanded the complete retreat of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interception system from their country. Dozens of people gathered outside the government complex in central Seoul, just 1-2 km away from the presidential Blue House, to call for the new government to pave the way for the complete retreat of the US missile shield. The protesters were composed of residents living near the THAAD deployment site and civic group activists who continued to conduct anti-THAAD demonstrations together with the residents. They told a press conference that the new government must stop all activities relevant to the THAAD deployment, urging it to open the way for the reversal of the THAAD installation by thoroughly investigating and reviewing the deployment process from the starting point. The demonstrators held posters that read "Look thoroughly into the illegal THAAD that does no good but harm," and "Reverse the THAAD deployment decision." The protest rally came a day after a senior Blue House official said that the already installed THAAD elements will inevitably remain though the deployment of four more mobile launchers will be halted until a green audit ends. Around two weeks before the country's presidential by-election on May 9, part of the THAAD elements, including radar and two mobile launchers, were transported in the middle of night to a golf course at Soseong-ri village in Seongju county, North Gyeongsang province. Four more THAAD launchers were delivered to an unidentified US military base in South Korea, but the delivery was not reported to President Moon Jae-in who took office on May 10.
