Possible Taiwan presidential candidate Ko Wen-je meets head of mainland China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
- Taipei mayor meets Liu Jieyi at end of three-day visit to Shanghai
- Officials agree Taiwan, mainland are part of ‘one big family’
A possible candidate in Taiwan’s presidential elections met the man in charge of handling the Chinese mainland’s affairs with the self-ruled island on Friday in what observers say was a calculated but daring move to show off his credentials as someone Beijing can trust.
Parts of the meeting between Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, from the Kuomintang party, and Liu Jieyi, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office, which came at the end of Ko’s three-day visit to Shanghai, were broadcast live via Facebook.
The meeting with Liu was an important part of Ko’s trip, during which he also attended the 10th twin city forum between Taipei and Shanghai and presented himself as an alternative to the traditional mainland-friendly politicians from Taiwan’s major opposition party, the Kuomintang, observers said.
Neither of the two men mentioned the “one China” principle that Beijing insists on as the political foundation of cross-strait relations.
But Liu said the two sides belonged to “one big family”. Ko had also used the phrase to describe cross-strait ties and that might have helped him to get a green light from Beijing for his Shanghai visit.