Hong Kong-Taiwan relations will continue to improve regardless of the outcome of next week's presidential election on the island, says the new director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong.
James Chu Shi, who began work on January 1, said ties between the city and Taiwan would only strengthen following the upgrading of the name of Taiwan's main office in the city and Hong Kong's establishment of an economic, trade and cultural office in Taiwan last year.
Chu's office, formerly known as Chung Hwa Travel Service, was renamed in July.
'The co-operation between the two places is institutionalised and has reached a point of no return. So no matter who is going to win the election on January 14, Hong Kong-Taiwan relations can only progress in a positive direction,' said Chu at his first media briefing. 'However, it is hard to predict how the cross-strait relations will be affected by the result of the poll.'
With nine days to go before the election, opinion polls show President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang party - who is seeking a second term - with a narrow lead over Dr Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, and far ahead of James Soong Chu-yu of the People First Party.
It is widely believed that cross-strait stability could suffer if Tsai is elected.
