Top mainland Chinese official Zhang Zhijun arrives in Taipei to sound out public
Mainland official wants to understand island; its president says he needs to 'do more homework'
The mainland's top official in charge of Taiwan affairs yesterday had his first personal experience of everyday life on the island and said it would help him better understand local attitudes towards cross-strait relations.
"As head of the Taiwan Affairs Office, this is very important to me, especially when most of my colleagues have visited Taiwan before," Zhang Zhijun said during his first trip to the island.
He made the comments during a visit to a community centre in New Taipei City where he chatted with a group of residents.
Zhang later visited a daycare centre for senior citizens with New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu Li-luan, seen as a possible contender for the governing Kuomintang in presidential elections in 2016.
He said he wanted to have more chances to exchange views and share experiences with local communities in various parts of the island.
The island's President, Ma Ying-jeou, told Forbes magazine in an interview published yesterday that, in order to understand the island better, authorities on the mainland "need to do more homework".