At the invitation of the Taiwan Council for Industrial and Commercial Development (CICD), a Liaoning delegation led by Chen Zhenggao, governor of Liaoning Province, began its visit to Taiwan on Feb 15, 2011, in an attempt to raise the profile of Liaoning in Taiwan.

This is the first provincial delegation from the Chinese mainland to visit Taiwan this year.

More than 800 people from business and cultural circles on both sides attended the opening ceremony of the Liaoning-Taiwan Economic &Trade Corporation Forum on Feb 16.

Chen enumerated the many advantages of Liaoning at the ceremony, highlighting its resources, transportation, culture and sports. He also appealed to Taiwan businessmen to promote closer Liaoning-Taiwan economic and trade cooperation.

Lien Chan, honorary chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT), said in his statement, “The economies of the two sides are highly complementary. However, the ratio of investment by Taiwan businessmen in Liaoning is currently less than 1% that of mainland. Therefore, there is tremendous potential for economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.”

Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation, addressed the ceremony, “I believe this visit will prove highly productive, and will further promote cooperation and communication between the two sides.”

According to the schedule, Chen will attend the Liaoning-Taiwan Tourism Promotion and Cooperation Forum to negotiate opportunities for cooperation on the afternoon of Feb 16. He will then visit Shenyang Palace Historical Relics Exhibition and the Taipei International Flower Show.

By Xie Fang & Wang Guangming

Polished by Nathan Place