BEIJING - China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have scheduled a joint maritime exercise to take place later this year, a Chinese ministry spokesperson said Thursday.The purpose of the joint drill is to enhance mutual trust, expand exchange and cooperation, and safeguard regional peace and stability, said Wu Qian, spokesperson with the Ministry of National Defense.The parties are currently working together to arrange the details, he said.Wu also confirmed that lieutenant general Liu Xiaowu, deputy commander of the Western Theater Command, will head a border defense delegation to Pakistan and India in the near future.Liu will meet and hold talks with the two countries' military leaders on topics including theater-level exchange, border management and control, as well as cooperation in border defense. glow wristbandsplain wristbands1 inch wide rubber bandsmotivational bracelets for athletes
XI'AN - The Chinese mainland's Taiwan affairs chief Wednesday called on both sides across the Taiwan Straits to work together for the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and peaceful reunification of the motherland.Liu Jieyi, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, met Hung Hsiu-chu, former Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman, and Yok Mu-ming, chairman of Taiwan's New Party, respectively in the northwestern city of Xi'an.Hung and Yok were in Xi'an to attend a ceremony paying homage to Huangdi, also known as the Yellow Emperor, regarded as one common ancestor for all Chinese.At the meetings, Liu expressed appreciation for the effort made by Taiwan's organizations and politicians, including Hung and Yok, to uphold the one-China principle and oppose "Taiwan independence."He expressed the hope that people from all walks of life on the two sides of the Taiwan Straits to work together for the greater national interest.
