Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Vice-Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung signed his name in support of Beijing's bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games during his visit to the Chinese capital on November 23, 2000.

Wu is the highest-level KMT official to visit the mainland since 1949.

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee is thinking seriously inviting Taiwan to co-sponsor the 2008 Olympic Games, said a leading official with the committee's press and public affairs department on Thursday on condition of anonymity.

The possibility of Beijing and Taiwan co-sponsoring the games exists, and relevant departments are studying the situation, the official said.

``If the 2008 Olympic Games is to be held in Beijing, some of the mass events like soccer, baseball and basketball may be held in Chinese cities including Shanghai and Guangzhou, but why not Taiwan's Taibei?'' the official said.

Hong Kong and Taiwan press have been reporting on the likelihood of the mainland and Taiwan co-hosting the 2008 Olympics. It is widely believed that co-hosting will enhance reconciliation and cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, and at the same time, add strong weight to Beijing's bid.

The official refused to say whether and when the committee will send an official invitation to Taiwan, which, resulting from a civil war between the Communist Party and the Kuomintang (Nationalist) Party in the 1940s, is not unified with the mainland yet.

According to a poll of 20 normal people in Taipei, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taoyuan by the Taiwan daily Minsheng Pao, most of them felt that Beijing's bid to host the 2008 Olympics was a big event for Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. If Beijing does win the right to host the 2008 Olympics, it will be the honor for the entire Chinese race so they should work hand in hand to support Beijing's bid.

Taiwan basketball star Cheng Chilong and Mrs. Chen Sihan from Taoyuan both felt that the motherland had a lot to offer, especially since its athletic facilities have reached world-class standards, Beijing has met all the conditions to host the Olympics so we should give them our full support.

(China Daily 11/24/2000)