Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung will visit the mainland from May 26 to May 31, an official with the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee said here on Sunday.

Invited by the CPC Central Committee and General Secretary Hu Jintao, Wu Poh-hsiung will visit the three mainland cities of Nanjing, Beijing and Shanghai during his six-day tour, the official said.

According to reports from Taipei, the KMT chairman would express condolences to victims of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province on behalf of his party and the people of Taiwan, and put forward opinions on promoting mutually beneficial cooperation across the Taiwan Straits.

Chen Yunlin, director of the Taiwan Work Office, said on Saturday that with positive changes of the current situation in Taiwan, "Wu's visit will be conducive to strengthening communication and dialogue of the two parties and will push forward the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations."

(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2008)