Beijing has confirmed receiving the cremated remains of historic Communist Party spies from Taiwan and hailed the “patriots” as providing encouragement in its pursuit of reunification.
Zhang Han, a spokeswoman for the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office, noted on Wednesday that the ashes had been returned before the Ching Ming Festival, a tomb-sweeping day that falls on April 5 this year, and days before the expected visit of Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang.
“The heroic deeds of these patriots will never be forgotten by the people or by history,” Zhang said.
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“Their ideals, beliefs and character are bound to inspire compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to strive for the early achievement of complete reunification of the motherland and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
The Communist Party’s espionage activities in Taiwan started in the final months of the civil war, with the defeated KMT retreating to the island in June 1949.
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