Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
This marks Ma's second official visit to his birthplace since he took office in 1998.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
He has been invited by the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute (
He is scheduled to deliver a key note speech at a dinner celebrating the institute's fifth anniversary this evening.
His high-profile trip is expected to stir up media frenzy with a day full of interviews with local and international media including CNN, Star TV, Time magazine and the New York Times.
Media attention will also focus on his first meeting with the highest ranking official of the special administration region, Tung Chee-hwa (
Political observers have seen Ma's visit as China's attempt to befriend Taiwan's local governments and opposition parties to isolate President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Since Chen took office in May, Beijing has demanded he embrace the "one-China" principle but Chen has resisted.
As a rising star in Taiwan's KMT, Ma, the only KMT member to ever beat Chen in an election, seems the perfect candidate to compete against his old rival.
During his tenure as the deputy chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (
Ma is accompanied by seven city government officials and seven city councilors.
City officials include Director of the Information Department, King Pu-tsung (
City councilors include Jeffrey Hsu (
They are expected to return to Taipei on Thursday.
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