With Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah setting off for Taipei today, officials from Hong Kong and Taiwan are set to hold their first formal talks since the establishment of a new exchange platform between the two places.
Yet both sides' priorities appear to be different. While Taiwan wants to elevate its political status at the negotiation table, Hong Kong remains acutely aware of the constraints of 'one country, two systems'.
Tsang will be the highest-ranking serving Hong Kong official to visit Taiwan since Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. He will attend a meeting as honorary chairman of the Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council (ECCPC), set up in April to deal with its Taiwan counterpart, the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council (ECCC), which was inaugurated in May.
The two councils, with senior officials from their respective governments participating, were established to provide a quasi-official communication channel between Taiwan and Hong Kong after Taiwan-mainland relationships warmed significantly over the last two years. The ECCC is chaired by Taiwan's former finance minister, Lin Chen-kuo.
However, the first meeting between the two councils in Taipei on Monday will not be an easy task. A local person familiar with preparations said there had been intense negotiations over the agenda since a Hong Kong government team arrived in Taipei last week.
James Chu Shi, director of the department of Hong Kong and Macau affairs under Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, told Taiwan news media that Taiwan wants Hong Kong to waive all visa requirements for Taiwanese travelling through the city, and wants to rename the Chung Hwa Travel Service - Taiwan's representative in the city.