The China Post
Date: November 5, 20174
By: Matt Yu, Miao Zong-han and Ko Lin

TAIPEI (CNA) – Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said Saturday that a plan for the city

to set up a liaison office in China to serve Taipei residents there is still being assessed.

“If the plan works out, the most likely location would be in Shenzhen where a lot of our Taipei expatriates are living,” Ko said during a healthy walking event in the city.

The mayor said that while the city is weighing the idea of a liaison office, the final decision on such a project would primarily be up to the central government, which is responsible for cross-Taiwan Strait affairs.

The other objective of a Taipei office in China would be to promote business ties between the two cities, he said.

New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) expressed on Friday his desire to open a New Taipei liaison office in China, and Ko told councilors during a hearing the same day that Taipei is also working on a plan to open an office in China, with Shenzhen the most likely location.

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) issued a statement Saturday that echoed the main points of its response to Chu’s appeal the day before.

It said that any decision on a liaison office is not up to the local government but rather falls under the jurisdiction of the MAC, which is responsible in Taiwan for cross-Taiwan Strait affairs.    [FULL  STORY]