Grandchildren of Mao, Chiang Kai-shek meet in Taiwan
Posted: 17 November 2009 1539 hrs

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TAIPEI: The grandchildren of Chinese communist icon Mao Zedong and his arch rival Chiang Kai-shek met in Taiwan in a rare encounter mirroring warming ties between Beijing and Taipei, a report said on Tuesday.

Kong Dongmei, believed to be the first Mao relative ever to visit Taiwan, was on the island with a cultural delegation from the semi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, said the local China Times.

She met on Monday with John Chiang, a Taiwanese lawmaker and grandson of Chinese nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, who was Mao's mortal enemy on the mainland for most of the period from the 1920s until the 1940s.

They met when Kong's delegation visited the headquarters of the ruling Kuomintang, the party that the elder Chiang played a key role in shaping both on the mainland and in Taiwan.

"It's just a coincidence we met. I didn't think too much about it," Kong said when asked if their meeting symbolised the end of the feud between the two late leaders, according to the report.

Kong, who runs a multi-media publishing company in Beijing, has reportedly made three previous low-profile visits to the island, most recently in July.

The battle between Mao and Chiang for control over China cost the lives of millions and only ended in 1949 when Mao's communist forces seized power, banishing Chiang and his troops to Taiwan, where he set up a rival government.

China still sees Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, and tensions mounted under the island's former pro-independence government.

Ties have improved dramatically, however, since President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang took office in 2008.


- AFP/so