Mayor from Taiwan lines up business in HK, Macao

The first tour across the Taiwan Straits by the Kaohsiung mayor, Han Kuo-yu, got off to a good start, as trade deals worth more than NT$3.1 billion ($100.7 million) were signed in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions - the first stops on his journey to boost economic ties.

The rising star in Taiwan's Kuomintang party arrived in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Friday, heading a delegation of about 30 officials and businessmen from Kaohsiung. Han, who assumed office in December, started a weeklong tour which will include the Macao SAR; Shenzhen, Guangdong province; and Xiamen, Fujian province.

Han set foot in Shenzhen on Sunday afternoon, marking his first stop on the Chinese mainland before moving on to Xiamen. He officiated at the opening ceremony of an incubation hub in the Qianhai economic free trade zone in Shenzhen for young entrepreneurs from Taiwan.