Shanghai Vice Mayor Feng Guoqin (
Feng's ice-breaking trip will be the highest-level visit by a Chinese official to Taiwan since the opening of the "small three links" (
KMT lawmaker Apollo Chen (
"The visit doesn't have anything to do with controversial and political issues, but instead is focused on urban development, social welfare, agriculture and cultural issues. It is hoped that it will facilitate mutual understanding and foster positive bilateral cooperation in the long run," Chen said.
He added that the visit has two major goals.
"We hope it will serve as a prelude to future mayor-to-mayor visits as well as the second annual Taipei-Shanghai City Forum (
The trip has been organized by Chen and Ho Tung-hao (何東皓), chairman of the Formosan Vitality Foundation (台灣生命力文教基金會) and an assistant to Chen.
Feng along with eight other Shanghai municipal officials are scheduled to arrive at CKS International Airport this afternoon and leave on Thursday, Jan. 18.
During their 10-day stay, they are scheduled to meet with Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
They will also visit Tainan City, Kenting National Park in Pintung County, Taroko National Park in Hualien County, and Alishan in Chiayi County.
The reason given by the Shanghai authorities for not including Kaohsiung City, Chen said, is "inconvenience."
In fact, Feng's visit is not the first city-to-city contact across the Taiwan Strait.
The first annual Taipei-Shanghai City Forum, which began in May last year, launched alternative means of dialogue between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
In July of last year, Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) invited Xiamen Mayor Zhu Yayan (朱亞衍) to visit Taiwan, but the trip was rejected by the Mainland Affairs Council (陸委會) over what it said were "legal problems."
Taipei Deputy Mayor Bai Hsiu-hsiung's (
Earlier in November last year, Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), who formerly held posts as Taipei mayor, minister of the interior and Presidential Office secretary-general, visited China to attend a world Hakka amity meeting which opened in Xiamen. He was the highest-level KMT official to visit China.
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