Ties that bind

The unexpected birthday cake the visiting Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung received at Communist Party of China (CPC) General Secretary Hu Jintao's welcome dinner on Tuesday was heart-warming, and not only to the recipient. Everyone in favor of good cross-Straits relations would appreciate that sweet episode.

When Wu admits that he himself had forgotten his exact date of birth on the traditional Chinese calendar, we can imagine how much thought the host had put in presenting that cake.

And, the goodwill is not limited to Wu and his party. The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council disclosed yesterday that seven to nine procurement delegations would be dispatched to the island. The first, from the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, reportedly returned with purchases of Taiwan products worth $170 million.