The change in attitude was clearly not a result of the new visa policy itself. Rather, it marked the shift in sentiment between the governments of Hong Kong and Taiwan in the new era of warming cross-strait ties since the Kuomintang, the nationalist party, returned to rule on the island in 2008.

Hong Kong and Taiwan are the fourth-largest trading partners of each other. The two places are also popular travel destinations for each other's residents, with Taiwanese having made 2 million trips here last year and Hongkongers taking 600,000 tours there.

Despite the close economic and civil ties between the territories, the relationship between the two governments is fragile, often following the ups and downs of cross-strait politics. For the 12 years following Hong Kong's handover, there were no official visits at ministerial level between the two places, until Taiwan's then Financial Supervisory Commission chairman Sean Chen came to the city and Hong Kong's Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam Sui-lung visited Taipei in June last year.

Tsang's visit last week took official exchanges to a higher level. But the lack of concrete measures announced by the Hong Kong side after last Monday's meetings proved there were still thorny issues which could not yet been agreed on, many because of Hong Kong's limited power in dealing with Taiwan.

'The mainland and Taiwan have already struck deals on mutual legal assistance and civil aviation under the ECFA [Economic Co-operation Framework Agreement]. But what about Hong Kong and Taiwan? There is still no progress on these issues,' said Chang Wu-yueh, professor of mainland studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan.

'In theory, the Taiwan-Hong Kong relationship should be more flexible as a pioneer ahead of cross-strait exchanges. However, what we see in reality now is the opposite - the cross-strait relationship is leading that between Taiwan and Hong Kong,' the academic added.

He cited the 14 agreements signed between the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation, and the five meetings held between their top negotiators Chen Yunlin and Chiang Pin-kung over the past two years.

Granting Taiwan's residents visa-free entry and letting the Taiwanese representative office in Hong Kong operate under its proper name were what the Taiwanese side requested in its historic meeting with Hong Kong officials on a quasi-official basis last Monday.

Hong Kong's requests concerned a plan to upgrade the Tourism Board office in Taipei, and launching a multi-function office to liaise with government departments and promote trade there.

On the face of it, the demands from both sides might not look difficult to implement. But the perspectives held by a former Taiwanese finance minister, Lin Chen-kuo, and Hong Kong Tourism Board chairman James Tien Pei-chun may help illustrate some of the different ways of thinking.

Lin, chairman of the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council (ECCC), said after its meeting with its local counterpart, the Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council (ECCPC), that the Chung Hwa Travel Service should be renamed to reflect its role as the official Taiwanese representative body in Hong Kong, and that the Hong Kong Tourism Board office in Taiwan should also use a name 'acceptable to each other'.

Tien, who is also a delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a former Liberal Party chief, said there were just some technical issues to be solved in the upgrading of the board's Taipei office and he believed politics was no obstacle to the project. But he disagreed with Lin's remarks.

'Our Tourism Board office in Taiwan is purely for tourism promotion ... But their Chung Hwa Travel Service is involved in everything including politics and elections here. If we talk about reciprocity, shouldn't they restrain their function to tourism promotion like what we do there, instead of changing the name?' Tien said.

With the improved relationship between the two places, the Hong Kong government relaxed its policy in April last year to allow Taiwan residents who already held mainland visit permits to enjoy visa-free entry to Hong Kong for a stay of up to seven days.

But complete visa waivers, though undisputedly most convenient for travellers from both sides and advocated by the tourism sectors in both places, are still barred by political complexities. A person familiar with the negotiations on the matter said the Taiwan administration had proposed waiving visas altogether by having its immigration officers merely stamp Hongkongers' passports upon arrival - which over 100 countries are currently doing for Hong Kong visitors.

But the Hong Kong government, abiding by the 'one country' principle, could not accept an official stamp with the name of Republic of China appearing on special administrative region passports, which bear the name of the People's Republic of China.

The solution was the latest measure, which lets travellers print a slip from the Taiwan government's website for immigration officers to stamp.

'Why would people think Taiwan has extended more friendliness than Hong Kong has?

'One of the reasons is that the Taiwan government can make decisions by itself, while Hong Kong often hesitates and considers what Beijing thinks,' Chang noted.

James Chu Shi, director general of the department of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs under Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, remains positive that more solutions to problems would be found now that the ECCC and ECCPC have started operation as a regular communications channel.

'Our two sides have discussed a number of meaningful things during the one-and-a-half-day meeting, and more importantly, some of the topics involve exercising of government authority, which was something not easy in the past due to absence of a suitable communications channel. Our two sides will be able to deal with those issues raised [involving government authority] and work out solutions.'

David Lie Tai-chong, vice-chairman of Hong Kong's ECCPC, said patience was needed for results to be seen in Taiwan-Hong Kong talks.

'I would not rush to jump for results. Perhaps people are impatient to see yields. What I can say is that I would not protract work which can be done quickly.'

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The number of trips by Taiwanese residents to Hong Kong last year: 2m