Chinese mainland to welcome Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou

The Chinese mainland will welcome Ma Ying-jeou, the former leader of Taiwan, who will visit the mainland on March 27 to worship his ancestors and lead young Taiwan students to strengthen exchanges, a mainland spokesman said on Monday morning.

It is a Chinese tradition to pay careful attention to ancestor worship, and it's also the common custom of the compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits to do such things on Qingming or Tomb Sweeping Day Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said in a brief news release.

He said that more exchanges and communications between the young people from across the Straits would add fresh strength and vitality to the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.

The spokesman said we are willing to provide necessary assistance for Mr Ma's visit and wish him all the best during his trip.

According to the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, Ma's journey to the mainland will last 12 days from March 27 to April 7, during which he will visit Nanjing, Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing and Shanghai.

In a news conference on Monday, Hsiao Hsu-tsen, the director of Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, said that a group of young students will also visit the historical relics of the Revolution of 1911 and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression 1931 -- 45. The students and leader will have exchanges with students from prestigious universities on the mainland, such as Fudan University in Shanghai, Wuhan University in Hubei and Hunan University in Changsha.

Ma's footprints will cover well-known places with both historical and modern significance, according to a more detailed schedule provided by the foundation.

The former Taiwan leader will visit Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, the former residence of the forerunner of the democratic revolution in China, and the Memorial Hall for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

He will visit the Chongqing Planning Exhibition Gallery, which demonstrates achievements of urban and rural planning, and Yangshan Port in Shanghai.