Taiwan's main opposition DPP warming to Beijing
Spate of trips to mainland by top figures in island's main opposition party signals it wants to improve relations with the central government, say analysts
A flurry of mainland visits by prominent members of Taiwan's main political opposition group this month reflects what some analysts say is a softening of the pro-independence party's anti-Beijing stance.
And it may also signal that Beijing is taking a more practical approach in dealing with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), following the presidential election on the island in January that saw the DPP's Tsai Ing-wen lose a close race to incumbent leader Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang (KMT).
On August 1, DPP stalwart Hong Chi-chang arrived on the mainland in what Taiwanese media described as a "water-testing trip", leading a six-member delegation for a seminar to discuss cross-strait relations.
The event was hosted by Beijing's Taiwan Research Institute under the China Academy of Social Sciences.
Coming on the heels of Hong's visit were others by DPP legislator Hsiao Bi-khim, who heads the party's international affairs department, and by legislator Lin Chia-lung, who recently attended think-tank seminars in Shanghai. Both met with mainland academics and local officials.
Other prominent DPP members also visited, including a county magistrate who conducted a market survey on the mainland.
