Opposition Kuomintang Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (???), who is leading a delegation on a visit to China, said Monday in Shanghai that the delegation had achieved the three main goals of its trip and expected more such exchanges in the future.
The three main purposes of the trip were to look after the needs of Taiwanese based in China, convey the problems Chinese regulations have caused SMEs in Taiwan to relevant authorities, and get to know the new Chinese officials in charge of Taiwan affairs, the KMT has said.
The delegation led by Hsia left Taiwan for a multi-city tour of China on Feb. 8.
Since then, Hsia has met with Wang Huning (???), a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and Sung Tao (??), the head of Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, as well as Yin Li (??), the CCP secretary of Beijing.
The delegation also visited Nanjing.
On Monday morning, Hsia attended an event in Shanghai on exchanges between young entrepreneurs from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and was able to make contact with young Taiwanese entrepreneurs operating there.
The event was held online via live video link. Speaking at the virtual event, Hsia said there have been many factors that have hurt cross-strait economic and trade cooperation over the past few years and posed challenges to cross-strait exchanges and cooperation.
Due to the lack of mutual trust between Taiwan and China, the official cross-strait communications mechanism has been suspended, and the follow-up implementation of 23 official agreements between the two sides has been affected or even put on hold, he said.
Unable to get help through official channels, many Taiwanese businessmen have begun to find possible solutions to their problems on their own or sought the KMT’s help, Hsia said.
Under such circumstances, Hsia said, he believed he and the young entrepreneurs in attendance needed to assume greater responsibility and take a more active role to deal with the many problems facing them.
With the three main goals being met in the first six days of the trip, Hsia said he will continue to meet with Taiwanese businessmen in other Chinese cities to learn of their difficulties and ask the Chinese authorities to properly respond to their problems.
Hsia said the mainland has always hoped to promote exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and his trip and the talks his delegation had with the Chinese side has led him to believe there will be more exchanges in the future.
“Both sides have a better understanding of each other, which is a good direction for the peaceful development of the two sides of the Strait,” he said.
Hsia will also make stops in Wuhan, Chongqing and Chengdu during his trip that will last until Feb. 17, according to the KMT.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel