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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 TAO director to tour Taiwan this month
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi, left, shakes hands with Taiwan Affairs Office （TAO） Minister Zhang Zhijun in Nanjing, China on Feb. 11. Photo: CNA
By Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office （TAO） Director Zhang Zhijun （張志軍） is to arrive in Taiwan in the week of June 23 for a four-day tour of the country, during which he is to meet three city mayors, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday.
After the historic meeting between Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi （王郁琦） and Zhang in Nanjing, China, in February, it was reported that Zhang had been set to visit Taiwan soon after, but that the plan was postponed when the student-led Sunflower movement erupted in mid-March.
The movement against the government’s handling of the cross-strait trade service agreement was sparked by the student-led seizure of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei and ended peacefully when the protesters disoccupied the chamber in April.
Against this backdrop, Zhang’s visit is likely to cause a stir, not least because it overlaps with the extraordinary legislative session during which the service trade pact is to be discussed and might reignite heated clashes in the legislature.
The Chinese official’s trip also comes at a time when many members of the public are fuming over a comment by another TAO official, spokesperson Fan Liqing （范麗青）, that the future of Taiwan should be determined by “all Chinese people.”
The remark has drawn strong responses that followed a similar outcry over China’s “white paper” on Hong Kong released earlier this week, which some interpreted as a warning from Beijing to both the territory and Taiwan.
Aside from meeting Wang for the second “cross-strait affairs heads meeting,” Zhang is scheduled to go to New Taipei City, Greater Taichung and Greater Kaohsiung and meet with mayors there, MAC spokesperson Wu Mei-hung （吳美紅） said, adding that a religious activity in Changhua County was also on Wang’s itinerary.
Zhang is also to hold talks with representatives of small and medium enterprises in New Taipei City, Wu said, adding that Taichung’s Lin Family Mansion and Garden in Wufeng, Changhua’s Lugang Mazu Temple and Kaohsiung’s Fo Guang Shan Monastery are also on his visiting agenda. The council said Zhang would then meet students at I-Shou University in Greater Kaohsiung.
“Zhang’s visit reflects the improvement in the normalization of official cross-strait exchanges. It will also let Chinese officials experience Taiwan’s democracy and social plurality first-hand, and help them develop practical views on bilateral ties,” Wu said.
When asked if Zhang would meet Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） chairperson Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文）, Wu said no such plan has been made, “but the MAC is willing to arrange such a meeting upon the DPP’s request.”
Zhang is not set to meet political figures from the pan-blue camp either, Wu told reporters, saying: “We have asked him to avoid unnecessary political activities to keep the trip simple.”
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
