Top official for HK, Macau affairs to meet PFP chief

Vice-President Zeng Qinghong is expected to meet Taiwanese People First Party chairman James Soong Chu-yu in Beijing on Wednesday, Wen Wei Po reported yesterday.

Analysts said the meeting suggested that Mr Zeng, Beijing's most senior official overseeing Hong Kong and Macau affairs, had played a leading role in establishing mainland policies towards Taiwan.

It will be the first time Mr Zeng, a member of the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, has met the leader of a Taiwanese political party.

The Wen Wei Po report said that due to prior engagements, Mr Soong was unlikely to meet Jia Qinglin , Politburo Standing Committee member and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, during his visit to Beijing. Mr Jia previously held talks with Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan and vice-chairman Chiang Pin-kung during their recent trips to the capital.