Former Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou planning to visit mainland China
- Ex-leader will be accompanied by 20 students who will ‘seek out their roots’ in bid to boost cross-strait relations at a time of heightened tensions
- It is not known whether Ma’s trip will include a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping
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Ma Ying-jeou to become first former Taiwanese leader to visit mainland China since 1949
On Monday, Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office welcomed Ma’s visit, which will see him visiting the southern province of Guangdong, Shaanxi in the northwest and Beijing.
Chen Binhua, a spokesman for the office, said Ma will be leading a delegation of young people who will “seek out their roots” and take part in “exchange activities”.
Ma’s office said he would be accompanied by 20 university students who will meet their counterparts from two leading mainland universities – Peking University and Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou – during the visit.
During the visit to Shaanxi, a traditional heartland of Chinese civilisation, the group will attend a Ching Ming, or Tomb Sweeping, ceremony to honour the Yellow Emperor – a legendary figure who is seen as the common ancestor of all Chinese people.