File photo: Ku Chen-fu

    TAIPEI, Jan. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Chairman of the Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF) in Taiwan, died of renal failure in Taipei Monday morning at the age of 87.

    Ku's brief life deeds are as follows:

    On Jan. 6, 1917, Ku, whose ancestral home was at Hui'an County,Fujian Province of southeast China, was born in Taiwan Zhanghua County.

    Ku was elected chronologically as an alternative member and member of Kuomintang Central Committee, a member of Kuomintang Central Standing Committees.

    He had served important party or industrial posts in Taiwan, including chairman of "Chinese" National Association of Industry and Commerce, chairman of "Chinese" National Federation of Industries and a member of "National Unification Council" in Taiwan.

    In October, 1990, when SEF was founded, Ku was appointed as SEF's chairman of the Board of Supervisors. He had contributed to development of the relationship across the Taiwan Straits thereafter.

    In April, 1993, Ku and Wang Daohan, president of mainland-basedAssociation for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), whichaims to promote exchanges across the straits, develop the relations between the two sides and realize the reunification of the motherland, held first high-level non-governmental talks between the two sides of the Straits in Singapore, known as Wang-Ku meeting.

    In 1992, ARATS and SEF had reached a consensus called "1992 Consensus" in Hong Kong, in which the two sides agreed to express orally that "both sides of the Taiwan Straits adhere to the 'one-China' principle.

    Even after the cross-Strait talks and business communications were abandoned and great changes have taken place in Taiwan authorities, Ku still acknowledge the "1992 Consensus", and tried to resume talks across the Straits on the basis of the Consensus.

    Ku was invited to visit the mainland from October 14 to 18, 1998, and held second talks with Wang in Shanghai. He also met with then Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Vice Premier Qian Qichen in Beijing, talking about political and economical issues to promote the two sides' relationship.

    Upon hearing Ku's death, Wang Daohan with ARATS, Chen Yunlin, director of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China(CPC) Central Committee and the concerning department in South China's Fujian Province sent condolence messages respectively to Taipei to mourn his death. Enditem