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A report says the team will go to several cities, but in a 'private citizen' capacity

A high-level delegation from Taiwan's Interior Ministry will visit the mainland in November despite the  stalemate in relations across the Taiwan Strait, it was reported yesterday.

Taiwan's China Times  said senior ministry officials would make a  34-day visit  to Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou and other cities.

The report did not name the officials or the departments to be represented, but said the participants would visit as 'private' citizens to avoid  politically sensitive issues.

It also said  the ministry planned to send three more high-level government delegations to the mainland next year.

The  officials would  represent the island's religious, cultural and construction bureaus, and would visit areas including Tibet and Qinghai.

A spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry refused to confirm the report but said Taiwan government officials frequently made trips all over the world, including to the mainland.

'Taiwan officials make overseas visits when they are necessary,' she said.

All official  activities between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are supposed to be conducted through the mainland's non-governmental Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait and its counterpart on the island, the  Straits Exchange Foundation.

However, representatives of both sides frequently meet as private citizens or at third locations.

Taiwan media  have recently reported  that Chen Chung-hsin, director of the Democratic Progressive Party's China Affairs Bureau and senior adviser to Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, had visited Nanjing last month  to meet senior central government officials, including PLA officers from the Nanjing military district to discuss 'confidence-building measures'.

The military district would be responsible for fighting Taiwanese forces in the event of an armed conflict between the two sides.

In July, the Taiwan-based United Daily News said retired officials of the mainland's Ministry of Transport had halted secret meetings in Hong Kong with members of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council.

The meetings were called to discuss direct cross-strait transport links, but were called off ahead of next year's  presidential election in Taiwan.



Senior Taiwan officials to visit the mainland