Xinhua president eyes broader exchanges with Taiwan media

President of Xinhua News Agency Li Congjun (L) shakes hands with Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of China's Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and head of a group of Taiwan media representatives, at the headquarters of Xinhua News Agency in Beijing, China, Oct. 29, 2009. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

Xinhua News Agency president Li Congjun Thursday met with a visiting media group from Taiwan, headed by Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), to discuss cooperation with Taiwan media.

Li said that exchanges of news information were an important part of exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, which played an irreplaceable role in advancing understanding and bonds between people on both sides and carrying forward the Chinese culture.

He voiced hope that the exchanges would be further deepened and resident media branches be set up at the other side as soon as possible.

In the past two decades or so, Xinhua's cooperation and exchanges with Taiwan media groups on text news and press photos had been expanded to video news and financial information, Li said.

Xinhua would continue to enhance and improve coverage of events concerning Taiwan, Li said. "There will be wider space for cooperation and exchanges between media groups in the mainland and Taiwan."

Chiang said, exchanges in news were the "fourth link" between the two sides after the "three direct links" in air and sea transport and postal services.

The two sides should seize hard-won opportunities and jointly expand in the global media market, especially the world Chinese-language market, he said.

Chiang hoped that the SEF could discuss with the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) at "an appropriate time" next year cooperation in the fields of media, culture and education, and draw up an overall plan for future cooperation and exchanges.

The ARATS and the SEF are authorized by authorities in the mainland and Taiwan to handle cross-Strait relations.

The 25-strong media exchange group, including directors from 15Taiwan media organizations as well as experts and staff of the SEF, arrived in Beijing Wednesday for a five-day trip.

Source: Xinhua