TAIPEI: Taiwan "President" Ma Ying-jeou Friday presided over a ceremony in worship of Huangdi, or Yellow Emperor, the founder of Chinese civilization. Huangdi's mausoleum is in Yan'an, Shaanxi province.

Ma is the first top Taiwan leader to preside at the ceremony, which in past times was hosted by "the Minister of Interior".

The ceremony was held at the Yuanshan Martyr's Shrine in Taipei.

"Presidential Office" spokesman Wang Yu-chi said since the tradition to honor ancestors is so important to the Chinese people, Ma decided to host the ceremony himself in order to demonstrate the significance the administration attached to such cultural activities.

Friday's event was not the first time Ma has taken part in such commemorative events. Last year he attended the Confucius Memorial Ceremony at Taipei's Confucius Temple.

At Friday's ceremony, held on the eve of the Qingming Festival, or the Tomb Sweeping Festival, Ma led a contingent of senior government officials to the solemn ritual - lighting joss sticks, presenting bouquets and performing the three bows, paying homage to Huangdi far distant from the Imperial mausoleum.

Also attending were Executive Yuan President Liu Chao-hsuan and Judicial Yuan President Lai In-jaw.

The commemoration of Huangdi can be traced back to April 7, 1935 when the then Kuomintang (KMT) government sent a delegation to visit Yan'an's Huangdi Mausoleum for the first time. Since then the mausoleum visit has become a tradition.

When the KMT government moved to Taiwan in 1949, it carried the tradition to the island, necessarily conducting the ceremony far from the mausoleum. Recently Taiwan has been actively participating in cultural activities with mainland connections.

In February and March, the Palace Museum in Beijing and "National Palace Museum" in Taipei exchanged high-level visits and agreed upon further cooperation in future.

Last week religious bodies from across the Straits co-hosted the Second World Buddhist Forum, which started in Wuxi, Jiangsu province and closed in Taipei Wednesday.

There are more exchanges like this to come. Later this month, Taichung mayor Jason Hu will lead a delegation to Hong Kong to participate in an inter-city forum.

(HK Edition 04/04/2009 page1)