Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/06
By: Liu Li-jung and Lee Mei-yu

Taipei, Nov. 6 (CNA) Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will present a ceramic Formosan blue magpie to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping (習近平) on Saturday to mark their landmark meeting in Singapore, the Presidential Office said Friday.

The ceramic Formosan blue magpie, measuring 31 centimeters long 28 centimeters wide and 53 centimeters high, will be presented to the Chinese leader as a gift because the bird represents Taiwan’s uniqueness, according to the Presidential Office.

Dubbed the long-tailed mountain lady, the Formosan blue magpie is an endemic species that lives in the mountains of Taiwan at low elevations and is known for its rich azure-blue plumage and black head and neck.

It is widely seen as Taiwan’s national bird.