Island visit keeps up momentum for mainland's ties with Taiwan
Beijing official's trip to island of Quemoy improves links ahead of Taiwanese elections
Zhang Zhijun, head of the mainland State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, wrapped up his two-day trip to Quemoy by visiting local establishments and meeting local leaders on Sunday.
His visit is seen by analysts as highly significant as it not only strengthens the link between his office and that of his Taiwanese counterpart, but enables the two sides to continue developing relations ahead of Taiwan's 2016 presidential election.
Zhang started the day with a morning visit to a small reservoir that supplies drinking water for local residents, before touring Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor, which requires fresh and clean water to ensure the quality of its products.
Water supply is an important issue on the Taipei-controlled island of Quemoy, called Jinmen on the mainland, which for years has relied on water shipped from Taiwan.
Zhang said that, in his first meeting with Andrew Hsia Li-yan of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council on Saturday, they had agreed that authorities in Fujian province would sign an agreement with Quemoy, possibly in July, to supply it with cheap drinking water.
Other topics discussed included controlling the illegal excavation of sand by mainland gravel workers, stopping marine refuse spreading from Xiamen to Quemoy, opening outlying Taiwanese islands to more tourism from the mainland and letting mainland tourists make transit stops in Taiwan.
