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SCMP Reporter

Taiwan's de facto envoy in Hong Kong has said he would like to see Taiwan-Hong Kong interactions continue to move forward, amid widespread speculation  he will soon be leaving the job.

Pao Cheng-kang,  managing director of the Chung Hwa Travel Service - Taiwan's de facto consulate in Hong Kong -  expressed the hope during a speech on the Buddhist doctrine of 'returning to the origin' at a public talk last night.

Although he refused  to say whether it was his last public speech in Hong Kong, he  said he was not yet saying farewell to  the city and would talk about his time in Hong Kong when the time came.

Mr Pao was appointed Chung Hwa's managing director in May 2004 but was not granted a visa for  Hong Kong until October that year. He is expected to step down soon as the job's normal tenure is about three years.

Taiwanese media reported that Mr Pao would be succeeded by Yang Chia-chun,  director of the Department of Legal Affairs at Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council.

Asked if relations between Taiwan and Hong Kong had been static  in the past three years, Mr Pao  disagreed, saying there had been many cultural and athletic exchanges,  including a Taiwanese youth baseball team's visit to the city  in July.

But he stopped short of commenting on developments in the political relationship between the two  areas. He said he would like to see Taiwan and Hong Kong continue to interact  in various areas.

Although  Mr Pao denied he was leaving the city,  the organisers of the  talk were  straightforward  in saying goodbye.  On the  invitation to the event, the co-organisers, the Asia Pacific Taiwan Federation of Industry and Commerce, and the Kwang Hwa Information and Culture Centre, said part of the reason  for the address was to say farewell to Mr Pao.

Mr Pao was  given two bunches of flowers and a round of applause before  his speech.

On the stage, he recalled some of his memories of Hong Kong, including handling the aftermath of a fatal traffic accident in the Taiwanese tourist spot of Jioufen, in which five Hong Kong tourists were killed. The deaths occurred on the day he arrived in the city to start his job.

He also spoke of  public misunderstanding about  Chung Hwa's  role.

'We often receive calls asking about air ticket reservations,' he joked. 'Exchanges between Taiwan and Hong Kong really need to be enhanced and I hope people here will treat our organisation as a friend.'



I'm not saying farewell yet, says Taiwan 'envoy'