Former Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou to visit mainland

Former Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou will lead a group of Taiwan youths to the Chinese mainland from April 1-11 and visit places including Guangdong, Shaanxi and Beijing, for "root-seeking" and exchanges, a Chinese mainland spokesman said on Monday.

They will participate in the Qingming Festival Memorial Ceremony for the Yellow Emperor held in Shaanxi province, said Chen Binhua, a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.

We welcome Mr Ma and the group's visit, hoping that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will jointly inherit and promote the excellent traditional Chinese culture of honoring ancestors and remembering their origins, he said.

He called on compatriots from both sides to facilitate cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation in fields such as youth exchanges, to enhance mutual understanding and spiritual resonance, promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, benefit compatriots on both sides, and jointly promote the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Ma led a group of Taiwan youths to the mainland for exchanges from March 27 to April 7 last year. During the visit, he paid his respects to his ancestors on Tomb Sweeping Day, and talked with mainland youths.