In another sign of warming ties between China and Taiwan, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"Not only does the Taipei municipal government agree to the visit. Basically our central government also agrees to it," Ma said after meeting Tung in Hong Kong.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Responding to the invitation, Tung told Ma he would go at the "appropriate time."
Ma asked Tung during the 90-minute meeting, which was partially open to the media, to send senior officials to Taipei, if the Hong Kong leader could not go himself.
Hong Kong has to follow its own path on its way to democracy, Tung said during his historic meeting with Ma yesterday.
Tung, however, rejected suggestions Hong Kong should follow Taiwan's lead on democracy.
"Hong Kong has Hong Kong's past," Tung said. "The situation here is different. We've been through 156 years of colonial rule. The path we are walking down, we need to go step by step," he said.
The meeting marked the first time the Hong Kong government had officially received officials from Taiwan.
Before the closed-door portion of their meeting at the Hong Kong Government House yesterday, Ma and Tung briefly chatted with each other and answered questions from media who had packed the reception room.
Hours after the meeting, Ma spoke about the conversation between the two, before attending a dinner organized by the Chung Hwa Travel Service (
Before the closed-door meeting, Ma first thanked Tung for making the trip possible and said the delegation had benefited much from the visit. Tung also praised Ma's performance on city management.
As both recognized the importance of promoting city-to-city exchanges, Ma proposed to expand the subject of interactions to cover other issues such as culture and education.
"Although Taipei and Hong Kong have seen a steady increase of tourists and growth in bilateral trade, it seems we also need to focus on other issues such as culture and education," he said.
Ma's proposal was echoed by Tung.
"It's a good thing to promote exchanges between the two cities, because, after all, most big cities have similar problems," Tung said.
When asked when a high level of communication between both the two cities would take place, Tung said that it was happening now.
"Am I not seeing Mayor Ma now?" he said.
Commenting on whether this kind of interaction between local governments will become the model of communication between Taiwan and China in the future, Tung said that he wasn't sure.
"But overall, it's a good thing to promote this kind of exchange between cities," he said. Tung also pledged to set up a trade office in Taipei in the near future.
Finally, Ma proposed to expand the two-city forum to a three-city forum covering Taipei, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
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