TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kuomintang (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) has planned a dinner Wednesday (Aug. 24) with Zhang Zhijun (張志軍), the head of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), according to the party.

When Hsia left on his controversial trip to China Aug. 10, he emphasized he would concentrate on meeting Taiwanese business people, though he would not exclude talks with Chinese officials if they invited him. His visit became the target of fierce criticism as it started in the middle of Chinese military drills and live-fire missile exercises threatening Taiwan.

The KMT said Wednesday evening it had received the news that Hsia and Zhang would meet, apparently in Kunshan, a city in Jiangsu Province known for the presence of numerous Taiwanese businesses. Zhang’s ARATS is the semi-official body managing contacts with Taiwan, and the counterpart of Taipei’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).

Earlier Wednesday, the KMT denied Hsia would be meeting with an even higher-ranking Chinese official, Liu Jieyi (劉結一), the head of the government’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO).

Hsia stayed in COVID-19 quarantine in Xiamen until Aug. 20 before traveling to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Kunshan for meetings with Taiwanese business people and students, CNA reported. He was scheduled to arrive in Shanghai on Aug. 26 before returning to Taiwan the following day.

The KMT vice chairman’s journey was condemned by government supporters and some KMT members as inappropriate, and giving a wrong signal to the world about the current status of relations with China.