Pandas, orangutans and alligators top the agenda of Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin's five-day visit to Shanghai, which started yesterday, reported a Taiwan media.
Hau will visit the Shanghai Wild Animals Park tomorrow to discuss the exchange of rare animals - a pair of orangutans from Taiwan, and two pandas, black sub-nosed monkeys and Yangtze River alligators from the mainland, the island-based Broadcasting Corporation of China reported yesterday.
He is the first Taipei mayor to visit Shanghai.
According to the report, Hau will meet representatives from the Wolong nature reserve, Sichuan province, to discuss issues related to two giant pandas, named Tuantuan and Yuanyuan.
A proposal to send two pandas from the mainland to Taiwan as gifts was first raised when then-Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan visited the mainland in 2005.
The proposal did not proceed because of the "independence-leaning" Taiwan authorities headed by Chen Shui-bian.
Accompanied by the director of the Taipei Zoo, Hau will also talk about details on how to raise the pandas, the black sub-nosed monkeys and the Yangtze River alligators, said the report.
"We look forward to Tuantuan and Yuanyuan coming to Taipei," Hau said yesterday before a welcoming dinner hosted by the Shanghai's Taiwan affairs office.
Hau will ask Shanghai to join Taipei in the preservation of orangutans, which are in danger of extinction.
Today, Hau will visit the Shanghai urban planning museum, Hongqiao International Airport, and a massive public transportation center.
He will learn about the operation of Hongqiao airport and talk about direct flights between Shanghai and Taipei.
"I warmly welcome Shanghai people to visit Taiwan to better understand our hospitality," Hau said.
"It will be a good beginning, and mainland tourists visiting Taiwan will be of mutual benefit to both sides."
On Thursday, Hau is expected to sign a contract with Shanghai's World Expo organizers for Taipei's participation in the category of "Best Cities for Urban Practices." It will focus on "reduction of garbage and recycling" and the popularization of "wireless broadband".
Terry Gou, the third-richest man in Taiwan, has donated NT$300 million ($10 million) to build the Taipei pavilion at the 2010 expo.
A total 87 cities across the world have applied for participation, and will present 113 themes.
Source: China Daily
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