A spokesperson for Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), which oversees the island's China policy, told CNN that its top official, Wang Yu-chi, was due to meet with counterpart Zhang Zhijun.
Previous contact between the two sides has been conducted through semi-official foundations or through political parties, not by government ministers acting in their official capacities.
On his departure from Taipei, Wang said the visit would not be "easy" and the two sides would not sign any specific agreements, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency.
The meeting will take place in Nanjing, which was the seat of government under the Kuomintang or Nationalist party before a civil war with the Chinese Communists forced Nationalist forces to flee to Taiwan in 1949.
Ever since, the island and mainland China have been governed separately, both claiming to be the true government of China.
A statement on the MAC's website said the trip "marked a significant step to develop and normalize" relations between the two.
However, the exclusion of two Taiwan reporters from covering the meeting has soured the start of Wang's historic visit, which is expected to last four days in total.
Two journalists from Taiwan's Apple Daily and Radio Free Asia were excluded from a delegation of more than 80 reporters accompanying Wang, according to Freedom House, a press freedom watchdog.
"The Chinese government's refusal to grant access to these journalists reflects two important trends—the Communist Party's expansion of its tactics for influencing media from Hong Kong to Taiwan, and the government's use of visa denials as a way to punish overseas news outlets for critical coverage," said Sarah Cook, senior research analyst at Freedom House.
From BEN Latest News: www.benlatestnews.com
Follow us on Twitter: @benlatestnews
0 comments:
Post a Comment