TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kuomintang (KMT) Vice Chair Andrew Hsia (夏立言) is scheduled to attend the 15th annual Straits Forum, which begins on June 16 in China’s Fujian Province.

Hsia’s delegation will include members from the KMT’s Mainland Affairs Department, think tank personnel, representatives from local party branches, and youth workers' associations, per CNA. The main portion of the forum will be held in the city of Xiamen.

In 2022, due to the pandemic, Hsia participated in the forum virtually.

Lin Kuan-yu (林寬裕), head of the KMT's Culture and Communication Committee, emphasized that the party’s participation in this year’s forum is in accordance with the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area and other relevant laws. It is a civil form of engagement, facilitating healthy and beneficial cross-strait exchanges, and contributing to peace between the two sides of the strait, he said.

Lin also said that during the forum, Hsia will meet with some Taiwanese living in China.

Hsia and his delegation will depart on June 16 and return to Taiwan on June 19.

In August 2022, Hsia made a controversial visit to China, meeting with government officials as Beijing conducted live-fire drills around Taiwan following the visit of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.