TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Ma Ying-jeou Foundation (馬英九基金會) CEO Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) led nearly 40 Taiwanese students to Beijing on Monday (Feb. 10) for a five-day cultural exchange program, aiming to foster cross-strait youth interaction.
Hsiao hoped that this visit would demonstrate Taiwan's eagerness for more exchanges with China and revive cross-strait tourism, saying, “We hope to return to the days under former President Ma Ying-jeou when visitors from mainland China could freely travel around Taiwan."
The group arrived at the Beijing Capital International Airport (北京首都機場) at around 11 a.m. In an interview at the airport, Hsiao emphasized the symbolic significance of young people from both sides celebrating the Feb. 12 Lantern Festival (元宵節) together, which he believes could enhance cross-strait relations.
During the visit, the youth delegation will engage in skiing activities at Yanqing Winter Olympic Village (延慶冬奧村), and tour world heritage sites such as the Imperial Palace (故宮) and the Temple of Heaven (天壇).
Accompanying the group are Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) Taipei City Councilor Lee Ming-hsien (李明賢), National Chengchi University (政治大學) College of Law Associate Professor Liao Yuan-hao (廖元豪), and Chinese Culture University (文化大學) Journalism Professor Chuang Po-chung (莊伯仲).
