Taiwan's former president Ma Ying-jeou will visit China's autonomous city Hong Kong later this month, making him the most senior ex-leader from Taiwan to visit the autonomous city since 1949.      

Ma is visiting Hong Kong to attend the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) awards, where he will be one of the keynote speakers.

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"I got the invitation in January and after thinking it over, I decided to attend the event in order to increase international society's understanding of Taiwan," he told reporters on Monday.

Ma's office has revealed that the former president will be speaking on the contentious issues of Cross-Strait ties and the South China Sea dispute in his speech.

"The former president will share his thoughts about cross-strait ties, the significance of the historic November meeting with his mainland counterpart Xi Jinping, East Asian relations, and the increasing tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea," a spokeswoman from Ma's office said.

Ma had visited Hong Kong in 2001 as Mayor of Taipei. Taiwan's former president shares a very deep relationship with Hong Kong as he was born in the city in 1950.

While Ma was known for his moderate approach towards China, Taiwan's new President Tsai Ing-wen is unlikely to follow his approach.

In November 2015, Ma met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Singapore. This was the first time that leaders from both nations had met since the end of Chinese Civil War in 1949.

Many in China hailed this meeting as a watershed moment, while thousand of Taiwanese took to the streets in protest.

TagsTaiwan, china, Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan and China