Hong Kong, Nov. 14 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian extended an invitation to Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa to visit Taiwan and offered to talk with Beijing's leader, Jiang Zemin, at the former British colony.
In a meeting in Taipei with a group of National Taiwan University (NTU) alumni who live in Hong Kong, the president, who is also an NTU graduate, asked the Hong Kong guests to convey his "sincere" invitation to Tung for a trip to Taiwan.
He hoped Tung would call on his friends in Taiwan, exchange views with Taiwan leaders and thereby improve ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Chen's statement was meant to remind Hong Kong to cherish and pay more attention to its ties with Taiwan.
The President suggested at Wednesday's meeting to negotiate with Beijing on direct links for transportation and commerce now that both Taiwan and mainland China have been granted membership in the World Trade Organization, and Hong Kong should be an ideal place for such meetings between leaders of Taiwan and mainland China.