(XINHUA)

Lien Chan, Honorary Chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT), along with a delegation from Taiwan, visited the mainland from February 24 to 27. Top leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Xi Jinping, Hu Jintao and Jia Qinglin met Lien during his stay in Beijing. The trip was aimed at strengthening cross-Straits ties.

From April 26 to May 3, 2005, Lien, then KMT Chairman, led a Party delegation to visit the mainland, the first by a top KMT official since 1949.

During that trip, Hu, then General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, met Lien on April 29, marking the first meeting between top leaders of the two parties in 60 years.