TAIPEI - Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party celebrated its 118th anniversary on Saturday by visiting Dr Sun Yat-sen' s Memorial Hall.

The party also held charity events promoting social awareness of disadvantaged groups.

Accompanied by the party's major officials, KMT's chairman and Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou visited the hall in Taipei in the morning, laying a wreath at the bronze statue of Dr Sun, the founder of the party.

Ma later shook hands with party colleagues and the public, expressing his gratitude for their attendance and support.

Dr Sun founded Revive China Society, one of the predecessors of KMT, in Honolulu, Hawaii on November 24, 1894. The society was later merged into Tongmenghui and then became KMT.

Ma also visited a Catholic facility which houses people with disabilities in Taipei. He hoped this would help increase social awareness in caring for disadvantaged groups.

The party's branches in 22 counties and cities around Taiwan also held various charity events. These included visiting disadvantaged groups, blood donations and charity sales, in a bid to serve society and reach out to the public, a senior KMT official said.

Tseng Yung-chuan, KMT's vice-chairman and secretary general, told a press briefing on Thursday that the party would celebrate the anniversary with the principle of thrift and service due to the current poor economic situation.