Taiwan block of KMT officials 'unpopular'

In response to the Taiwan ruling party's rejection of a request by high-ranking Kuomintang party representatives to attend a nongovernmental forum on the mainland, a Chinese mainland official characterized the move as "unpopular with the people".

An Fengshan, spokesman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remark at a regular news conference on Wednesday.

According to media reports, the island's travel department turned down a request by KMT Vice-Chairman Tseng Yung-chuan, together with Lin Join-sane, former chairman of Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation and a former KMT leader, to go to the mainland for the Straits Forum, an annual nonpolitical platform designed to enhance people-to-people interaction, economic exchanges and cultural integration. The forum has been held for 10 years in Fujian province. This year's weeklong event is set for June.