The National Immigration Agency has approved Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu’s upcoming trip to China. Chu is also the mayor of New Taipei City. Chu plans to travel to China to attend a forum held by the Kuomintang and China’s Communist Party. He will also meet with President Xi Jinping, who is also Secretary General of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Opposition parties have raised questions about the legality of Chu’s application to travel to China. In his application, Chu said he would travel to China to participate in the KMT-CPC forum and for city exchanges, but the application did not mention Chu’s planned meeting with Xi on May 4.
The immigration agency has approved Chu’s application and said it was legal. But immigration official Tsang Shu-hong also explained on Wednesday that there are limits to what Chu may do in China:
"While the Ministry of Interior has approved the trip, at the same time, we will state in the document that the New Taipei City government must tell Mayor Chu that he must adhere to cross-strait law articles 5-1, 33-1, and 33-2," said Tsang. "There may be no signing of agreements, cooperation or alliance without the approval of the Mainland Affairs Council or relevant authorities."
Tsang said that all city mayors have to go through the same procedures when they plan trips to China.