Taiwanese singer Sherry Chang Huei-mei will perform at the Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday at a charity dinner attended by a high-ranking mainland official, signalling Beijing's year-long ban on the pop diva is likely to be lifted.
The 28-year-old performer, known as A-mei, will be making her first performance on Chinese territory since last May. She was banned from performing on the mainland by Beijing after singing the Taiwanese national anthem at the inauguration of President Chen Shui-bian.
Chang will be performing at a fund-raiser for Lifeline Express, a hospital train taking doctors who perform eye operations to remote parts of the mainland.
Zhu Qingsheng, mainland Vice-Minister for Health, and Hong Kong Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang will be guests of honour.
The boycott against Chang, although never publicly voiced by mainland authorities, caused Coca-Cola to replace her in advertisements for soft drink Sprite with Olympic diving star Fu Mingxia. State-run television stations and newspapers, as well as billboard owners, were reportedly ordered to withdraw images and stories about the singer.
The ban forced her to cancel a concert in Shanghai last July.