New Party visit 'seeks understanding'

Taiwanese delegation arrives, hoping to capitalise on earlier political expeditions and help usher in new era

The chairman of Taiwan's pro-unification New Party yesterday led a 30-strong delegation to the mainland for an eight-day visit to seek closer co-operation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

'The purpose of the trip is to seek better understanding between the two sides through meetings with mainland leaders,' party leader Yok Mu-ming said before departing for Guangzhou, the first city of the four-stop visit that will also take his group to Nanjing, Dalian and Beijing.

Mr Yok has designated the trip as a 'journey of the [Chinese] nation', during which he hopes to pave the way to make this century 'the Chinese century'.

He was not given a send-off at Taipei's airport by pro-independence activists, who disrupted the start of opposition Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan's historic visit to the mainland in April.

Mr Yok and his delegation were received by Guangdong Party Secretary Zhang Dejiang , who appealed for more investment in the province. 'We hope more Taiwanese companies will set up their regional headquarters and research and development centres in Guangdong,' he said.

At the end of March, there were more than 18,000 Taiwan-invested enterprises in the province, with total investment amounting to more than US$26 billion. Guangdong's trade with Taiwan last year totalled US$30 billion, 38 per cent of the mainland's total.