Andrew Hsia (left), a vice chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, mets with Liu Ning, secretary of the Communist Party of the China Henan Provincial Committee, in Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan Province on March 30, 2025. Hsia is leading a delegation from Taiwan to visit the mainland from March 29 to April 4. Photo: from Henan Television.

 

Andrew Hsia, a vice chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, led a delegation to visit the mainland from March 29 to April 4. On Monday, he attended a ceremony in Central China's Henan Province to worship the legendary ancestor Huangdi, or the Yellow Emperor, Taiwan-based media udn.com reported. Hsia expressed his willingness to uphold the 1992 Consensus and promote the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, Henan Daily reported.

Liu Ning, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Henan Provincial Committee, met with Andrew Hsia and his delegation in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan on Sunday, according to the Henan Daily.

Liu stated that we will uphold the One China principle and the 1992 Consensus, firmly oppose "Taiwan independence," and thoroughly implement the decisions and plans of the central government. We will fully leverage our unique advantages, such as root and cultural ties, to continuously expand cooperation between Henan and Taiwan in various fields. 

Liu noted that we aim to actively promote youth exchanges across the Taiwan Straits, provide more convenience and better services for businesses and entrepreneurs from Taiwan which invest in Henan, create a better environment and conditions for Taiwan people to live happily in Henan, and inject more vitality and momentum into promoting exchanges, interactions and deeper integration and development between people on both sides of the cross-Straits.

Hsia said that people on both sides of the Straits are of the same Chinese nationality and share common cultural heritage and vision. He noted that the grand ceremony to worship Huangdi has played an important role in promoting exchanges between people from Henan and Taiwan, as well as cultural interaction and economic cooperation, becoming a key platform for enhancing the emotions and friendship between the people on both sides. 

He also mentioned that Henan, as an inland area with a growing open economy, has a complete industrial system and strong supporting capabilities, offering more opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs from Taiwan. 

Hsia emphasized the commitment to upholding the 1992 Consensus and playing a bridging role to strengthen cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and Henan in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology, and culture, further enhancing the well-being and rights of people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits and promoting the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations to create a better future together, the Henan Daily reported.

After this trip in Henan, Hsia will also travel to East China's Jiangsu Province, where he will meet with officials from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council in Xuzhou and visit the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, according to udn.com.

Li Zhenghong, president of the All-China Federation of Taiwan Enterprises, also attended the grand ceremony on Monday and was interviewed by Taiwan media before the ceremony began. 

He said that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is distorting cross-Straits exchanges for its own political gain and ideological manipulation, which are unacceptable. Not only does this go against public opinion, but it is also a form of forgetting their roots, according to Chinanews.

On March 28, a group of 30 young people from Taiwan set out for a trip to East China's Shandong Province amid increasing cross-Straits tensions triggered by latest secessionist moves of the Taiwan authorities, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

As tensions across the Taiwan Straits grow, exchanges are even more crucial, said Hsiao Hsu-tsen, the executive director of the Ma Ying-jeou Culture and Education Foundation, who is leading this delegation to Shandong, Xinhua reported.

Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te recently outlined 17 strategies to counter so-called threats facing the island, including a number of restrictive policies targeting exchanges across the Straits, per Xinhua.

The latest TVBS poll shows that more than half of the respondents do not support Lai,  proving that despite the various promotional efforts by Lai and other "Taiwan independence" advocates, the majority of people do not agree with them, Zheng Jian, director of the Graduate Institute for Taiwan Studies at Xiamen University, told the Global Times.

Zheng noted that Hsia's delegation chose to visit the mainland during the Qingming Festival period and attended the ceremony to honor the Huangdi. Because compatriots on both sides share the same heritage and origin, they took this concrete action to oppose the DPP's disregard for their roots. 

Hsia led a delegation on a visit to the Chinese mainland in February 2023, according to Xinhua. A month later, a delegation led by former Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou also visited the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, as reported by Xinhua.

In August 2024, Song Tao, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, met with a delegation led by Andrew Hsia in Lushan, East China's Jiangxi Province, Xinhua reported.