KMT chief in Fujian for home-coming trip

By Hu Meidong, Zhu Xingxin and Rui Yang (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-08-13 21:12

Wu Poh-Hsiung, the Chinese Kuomintang chairman, and his entourage, arrived in Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province on Wednesday evening for a home-coming trip to his ancestral hometown.

Undated file photo of Chinese KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung. [Agencies]

Before coming to Xiamen, Wu attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games on August 8 and watched the Chinese Taipei teams matches at the Games.

On Thursday, Wu Po-Hsiung will go to Yongding, Longyan City in Fujian Province to pay homage to his ancestors. He also plans to visit a primary school and the Hakka Tulou, which was listed as a cultural heritage site last month. Tulou is the communal clay dwellings of the Hakka people in Fujian province.

At the news, Wu congratulated the mainland for Tulou being accorded World Heritage status by UNESCO.

Wu comes from a Hakka family, who generally live in such houses. The Hakkas, nomadic Han people, started building such structures about 1,000 years ago. The circular and square buildings are made of nearly impenetrable clay and bamboo chips.

This is the second time Wu Poh-Hsiung has returned to his ancestral hometown. In November 2000, Wu Poh-Hsiung went home after attending the World Hakka Assembly in Longyan.

Wu was born on June 19, 1939 in Taoyuan on Taiwan Island. He is now the Chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang.