During talks between Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation and the mainland’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait in Beijing June 2008, the two sides agreed to exchange representative offices. Now it looks as though it will happen as early as March or April this year.
The two offices, which are overseen by the Taipei-based Taiwan Strait Tourism Association and Beijing’s Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association respectively, are expected to open on the same day.
In Taiwan the Ministry of Transportation and Communications has appointed Yang Ruey-tzhong, former chief of Taiwan’s Cabinet’s Third Directorate, to lead its Beijing office. Yang will thus become the first government official to be stationed in mainland China.
Taiwan Today reported that Fan Liching, spokeswoman for mainland China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said exchanging representative offices on either side of the strait is of great significance. “The move is conducive to facilitating future cross-strait development.”