Luo Huining, Party secretary of Shanxi province, met with Hung Hsiu-chu, former president of Kuomingtang (KMT), in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi, on May 20.

Luo welcomed Hung's delegation to Gaoping county for the third cross-Straits folk ancestor worship ceremony and recognized Hung's contribution to improving cross-Straits relations.

The economic and cultural ties between Shanxi and Taiwan are now closer than ever before, with increasing numbers of college students and residents moving and communicating between the two regions. The ancestor worship ceremony in Gaoping county has proved to be an important platform for promoting Chinese traditional culture and furthering the two sides' partnerships.

Luo expressed the hope that through the ceremony and related activities, Shanxi and Taiwan will expand collaboration into more areas including culture, the economy and tourism to benefit more residents of both regions.

More Taiwan residents are also encouraged to visit, study, work and start businesses in Shanxi, sharing in the opportunities brought by the province's reform and development.

Hung said that ancestor worship is a Chinese tradition and the delegation aimed to let more Taiwan young people know where their cultural root lies by joining in the worship ceremony in Shanxi, the birthplace of Chinese civilization.

She spoke highly of changes in Shanxi and hoped to introduce more Taiwan businesses to invest in Shanxi and take part in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative.

The delegation led by Hung Hsiu-chu will visit major cities in Shanxi including Taiyuan, Changzhi and Jincheng from May 20 to 24 and take part in a cross-Straits ceremony for worshipping ancestors in Gaoping county on May 22. The number of attendees from Taiwan is expected to be higher than that of in the past two years.