Mayor of Kaohsiung starts 'ice-breaking' visit to Beijing

• Source: The Global Times
• [00:11 May 22 2009]
• Comments

By Wang Anna

Chen Chu, mayor of Kaohsiung, Taiwan Province, arrived in Beijing yesterday morning for a four-day visit to the mainland, the China News Service reported.

 Chen Chu, mayor of Kaohsiung, presents a framed picture to Guo Jinlong, mayor of Beijing, yesterday. Photo: Liao Pan
 

Several media reports said the arrival of the highest-ranking official from the Democratic Progressive Party ever to visit the mainland marks an ice-breaking exchange between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan's main opposition party.

“I would say it's an ice-breaking visit in the sense it means the mainland will listen to voices other than those of the Kuomintang,” the Taipei-based China News Agency quoted Chen as saying.

But she insisted she was visiting in her capacity as mayor of Kaohsiung, a city in southern Taiwan, and not as a leading figure within the DPP.

Consequently, she would “not be delivering any messages” for DPP chairman Tsai Ing-wen, she said.

Chen met with Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong yesterday afternoon at the Beijing Hotel, where she is staying.

Chen congratulated Guo on Beijing's successful hosting of the Olympics Games and invited him to attend the opening ceremony of the World Games on July 16 in Kaohsiung. Guo said he would very much like to attend if given the opportunity to do so.

Chen said she hoped more people from Beijing would visit Taiwan and asked them “not to forget Kaohsiung” when planning their itineraries. She promised the city would ensure the safety of all tourists from the mainland.

Chen, who is leading a 20-member delegation, is today scheduled to visit the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, and to hold talks with Liu Peng, director of the General Administration of Sports.

The visitors will leave Beijing for Shanghai tomorrow, where they will attend a series of promotional activities for the World Games.

Chen's visit to Beijing and Shanghai was finalized only a day before she left and had earlier been canceled, sparking media speculation of her being under pressure from the DPP.

“The DPP can't stay out of cross-Straits communication as it is the mainstream right now,” Zhang Wensheng, director of the Taiwan Research Institute in Xiamen Universtiy, said.

“Chen also needs to consider the interests and wishes of the people of Kaohsiung, as she needs their votes. Her visit is significant despite her denying she is representing the DPP.”