New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu met China’s top Taiwan policymaker – Zhang Zhijun – on Thursday.
Zhang is the head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office. During the meeting, the mayor said that China should respect the Taiwanese people.
"When it comes to cross-strait ties, [China] should respect the views and the decisions of the Taiwanese people. That’s our stance," said Chu.
On Thursday morning, Zhang also met with New Taipei City residents. He said he was hoping to get a better understanding of the lower-middle class, and in particular, their views and suggestions about cross-strait ties.
During his visit to a local community center, Zhang met with people from several different sectors, including: the elderly, indigenous people, and Chinese citizens married to Taiwanese.
This is Zhang’s first trip to Taiwan. That’s despite the fact that most of his staff have been to Taiwan before. He said he would like to take the opportunity to learn more about what life is like in the lower echelons of society. He also said that small-and-medium sized businesses on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should conduct more exchanges, as they create far greater job opportunities than big corporations.
Police have tightened security since Zhang’s arrival on Wednesday, since he’s the first ministerial level Chinese official to visit Taiwan in 65 years. Still, there were sporadic protests on Thursday morning. Most of the protesters were students and adherents of Falun Gong, although there were also a small number of supporters as well.