FORMER Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou will lead a delegation of 20 young students from Taiwan to Shenzhen today, commencing an 11-day visit to the mainland aimed at “root-seeking” and exchanges.

The visit, stretching from today until April 11, will cover significant sites in Guangdong and Shaanxi provinces and Beijing.

The delegation is slated to arrive at the Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport this afternoon. Their itinerary in Guangdong spans three days and will feature visits to influential Shenzhen-based enterprises, including DJI, Tencent, and BYD, and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

In Guangzhou, the delegation will engage in academic exchanges at the Sun Yat-sen University and pay tribute to the 72 martyrs of the Huanghuagang Uprising. Visits to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and the Whampoa Military Academy’s memorial museum are also on their itinerary.

Scheduled to arrive in Shaanxi on the evening of April 3, the group will spend four days exploring the province. A highlight will include participating in the Qingming Festival Public Memorial Ceremony for the Yellow Emperor, also known as Huangdi, who is a legendary figure revered as the ancestor of the Chinese people and a pioneer of Chinese civilization.

The last city in their journey will be Beijing. Beginning from April 7, the group will visit key cultural and historical sites including the Peking University, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the China Academy of Space Technology, Lugou Bridge, and the Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. They will also explore modern marvels such as the National Speed Skating Oval and the Bird’s Nest, or the National Stadium.

Chen Binhua, a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a press conference last week that he welcomes Ma and the group’s visit and hopes that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will jointly inherit and promote the excellent traditional Chinese culture of honoring ancestors and remembering their origins.

Ma led a group of Taiwan youths to the mainland for exchanges from March 27 to April 7 last year. During that visit, he paid respects to his ancestors and talked with mainland youths.                     (SD News)