Taiwan’s top China policy-maker Andrew Hsia has met with his Chinese counterpart Zhang Zhijun on the outlying Taiwanese island of Kinmen.
Head of China’s Taiwan Office, Zhang Zhijun, arrived in Kinmen on Saturday. Supporters and protestors of the meeting gathered in the morning, and minor scuffles broke out between the people gathered there and the police.
In his opening remarks, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Andrew Hsia said relations between Taiwan and China in the past seven years have improved significantly. But he also said good cross-strait relations will have to be built on dignity, respect, peace, and security.
During the two-day meeting, the two sides will discuss issues including Chinese tourist stopovers in Taiwan, the cross-strait trade in goods agreement, and the establishment of offices in each other’s territories.
Hsia is also expected to push Taiwan’s bid to become a “full” member of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). That’s after Taiwan’s bid to become a founding member of the bank was rejected in mid-April.