China - Taiwan

In 2005 a big news story was the visit to the Chinese mainland of the first ranking politician ever from Taiwan. Mao and the Communists had banished the Nationalists under Chang Kai Shek to perpetual exile until then. The next few posts comment on the reciprocal visit to Taiwan of the highest ranking Communist ever which has just taken place. In 2005 the Taiwanese guest paid homage to Sun Yat Sen, founder of the Nationalist party, at Nanjing which was the Nationalist capital for a good stretch during the civil war of the 1930s. Sun Yat Sen is also a hero to the Communists because he brought an end to feudalism and the Chinese dynasties in the revolution of 1911. Lynne and I were in Nanjing at this memorial to Sun Yat Sen in November 2007.