Taiwan and Hong Kong will establish a new economic cooperation mechanism to enhance bilateral economic and trade ties, a working meeting of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and Hong Kong's Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau concluded yesterday.
The MAC and the bureau also agreed that Taiwan would soon set up a Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Cooperation Council and form an economic cooperation committee under the council to strengthen ties with Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Hong Kong would establish a Hong Kong-Taiwan Commerce and Trade Cooperation Committee under the Hong Kong Trade Development Council as the counterpart.
MAC Deputy Minister Fu Don-cheng (傅棟成) and Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam (林瑞麟), who presided over the meeting yesterday at the Sheraton Hotel in Taipei, said they expected the establishment of the mechanisms to serve as a new platform for communication.
Fu and Lam did not give a date for the establishment of the two organizations, but said that they would be set up as soon as possible.
In a joint press conference after the meeting, Fu said that the two organizations would be non-governmental, but high-level officials from Taiwan would support and participate in the mechanisms “in an appropriate manner and capacity.”
Lam, who flew to Taipei yesterday for the meeting, said Hong Kong would form an advisory team consisting of senior officials to support the work of the Hong Kong-Taiwan Committee, adding that the cooperation mechanism would serve as a communication platform for officials from the two sides.
“My visit to Taiwan is an important milestone in Hong Kong-Taiwan relations and will lay down the foundation for closer Hong Kong-Taiwan exchanges in the future,” he said.
Lam is the highest-level Hong Kong official to visit Taiwan since the territory's handover to China.
Asked whether he had discussed the issue with China's Taiwan Affairs Office Director Wang Yi (王毅), Lam avoided the question by saying he had not seen Wang lately.
Fu brushed off concerns that the meeting was not held at the MAC office or other government agencies because of the sensitivity of the issue.
“It is the first time the MAC had officially invited Mr Lam to visit Taiwan, and Mr Lam's visit is a great milestone ... There's no specific consideration in terms of the location of the meeting,” he said.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had proposed setting up bilateral cooperation mechanism between Taiwan and Hong Kong during his presidential campaign last year.
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