SONG TAO, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, met with Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, in Shenzhen yesterday.

Ma, who is leading a 20-member youth delegation to visit the mainland, arrived in Shenzhen yesterday afternoon.

Song extended greetings from Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, to Ma.

Song said compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are all Chinese, and they should uphold the 1992 Consensus and firmly oppose “Taiwan independence” separatist activities and external interference.

He called on people from across the Strait to actively promote exchanges and cooperation in various fields, jointly promote Chinese culture, enhance kinship and well-being of compatriots on both sides of the Strait, boost peaceful and integrated development of cross-Strait relations, and strive for national reunification and rejuvenation.

Ma thanked Xi for his greetings. Saying that compatriots on the two sides of the Strait are closely bound by blood, he called for boosting cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation, particularly among young people, on the political foundation of upholding the 1992 Consensus and opposing “Taiwan independence.”

During their 11-day visit on the mainland, the Taiwan delegation will stay in Guangdong for three days before heading to Shaanxi Province and Beijing.

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.                    (Xinhua)