Former Taiwan premier Frank Hsieh Chang-ting arrives in Xiamen
The former Taiwan premier lands in his ancestral home at the start of a five-day trip to the mainland
Former Taiwanese premier Frank Hsieh Chang-ting arrived in Xiamen , Fujian , yesterday at the start of a five-day ice-breaking visit that he hopes will help improve ties between the island's opposition Democratic Progressive Party and the mainland.
Soon after landing, Hsieh, a former DPP chairman, described the trip to his ancestral home of Xiamen - in the southeast across the Taiwan Strait - as a "visit to a familiar place - like one to my brother's home".
"I wanted to come for a visit 12 years ago, but I couldn't make it at that time, and this time I can use this visit to bridge the gap between then and now," he said. "I feel many things in Xiamen, including habits, culture and language, are similar to those of Taiwan," he said.
Hsieh, Taiwan's premier from 2005 to 2006 during the previous DPP administration, is the most senior politician from the pro-independence party to visit the mainland. Hsieh, who visited the mainland for the first time as a legislator 18 years ago, planned to visit Xiamen in 2000 in his capacity as Kaohsiung mayor, but that trip was barred by the DPP because of opposition to mainland visits by any of its officials.
Seen as one of the few party heavyweights who support better ties between the DPP and the mainland, Hsieh designed his trip to resemble the historic mainland visit by Kuomintang honorary chairman Lien Chan in 2005 - reaching out and taking the first step in the DPP's rapprochement with the mainland.
The focus will be on how the visit, which includes a stop in Beijing, proceeds - whether or not Hsieh is able to meet senior mainland officials and what sort of reception he is given. Those factors will be used to gauge the success or otherwise of his trip.