Newly-posted Taiwan affairs chief hopes to visit Taiwan

PINGTAN, Fujian, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Zhijun, the Chinese mainland's newly appointed Taiwan affairs chief, on Friday expressed hope that he can have a chance to visit Taiwan.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 11th Cross-Strait Relations Symposium on Friday, he told reporters, "I hope I can have a chance to visit Taiwan, and we also welcome the chief of Taiwan's concerned authorities to have a look on the mainland."

Zhang is the new head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. He said, "I'm willing to meet with the chief of Taiwan's concerned authorities, and [we can] have a cup of tea and talk."

Zhang said visiting Taiwan is a wish he shares with his predecessor Wang Yi.

At a reception held Sunday for Taiwanese reporters, Wang regretted not having a chance to visit Taiwan during his five-year term as the mainland's Taiwan affairs chief, according to Zhang.

"Now I've taken the post, and don't want to have the same regret," he said.

Commenting on Taiwanese reports, he said it is "completely unnecessary" for the Taiwan side to set certain conditions for the mainland's Taiwan affairs chief to visit the island.

"If both sides have the same feelings and hearts for [arranging such a visit], the question that under what title and in what form I will visit will be easy to handle," he said.