Kinmen County Commissioner Chen Shui-tsai (
Chen and his delegation from Kinmen, including Huang Kuang-chih (黃廣志), president of National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences in southern Taiwan, were warmly received by Xiamen University's president, Chen Chuanhong (陳傳鴻).
The Kinmen commissioner exchanged views with the Xiamen University president on academic exchanges between the two sides. Chen informed the Xiamen academic that the Kinmen branch of National Kaohsiung University is scheduled to be upgraded to an independent college next year and that the institute's operations will be further expanded.
Chen expressed the hope that Kinmen will follow Xiamen University's steps to secure further achievements in the academic arena.
For his part, the Xiamen University President said bilateral exchanges between Xiamen and Kinmen have been formally inaugurated with the arrival of the Kinmen commissioner, opening a new page in relations between the two sides. Chen said it will only be a matter of time before he travels to Kinmen for a visit.
Chen said that there have already been a number of students from Kinmen who arrived in Xiamen to attend Xiamen University over the past several years. He added that his university does not exclude the possibility of initiating academic exchange programs between Kinmen and Xiamen in the future.
Meanwhile, the first ever religious pilgrimage to travel directly across the Taiwan Strait from Matsu to China arrived in Fujian Province's Mawei port Tuesday. It then proceeded to Fujian's Meizhou Island yesterday.
The pilgrimage in honor of, comprised of Liu Li-chun (劉立群), magistrate of the Taiwan-controlled Lienchiang County, and more than 500 followers of Matsu, the Chinese goddess of sea, along with a few dozen members of the Taiwan media, took part in a worship ceremony held at Meizhou Island's Tienhou Temple.
Matsu, a young girl from Meizhou who sacrificed her life to save her father and brothers several hundred years ago, has been venerated for decades as the goddess of the sea by Chinese people, particularly those residing in coastal areas such as Taiwan and Fujian Province as they believe Matsu has the divine power of protection, looking after ocean-going people and their vessels.
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