Bohol on the table in GMA's China visit

NANCHANG , People's Republic of China – Bohol will be on the table when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo visits this historic city this coming November. Among other concerns, President Arroyo will witness the historic signing of the bilateral agreement between the Philippine and Chinese provinces of Bohol and Jiangxi. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) officials who visited Nanchang , the capital of Jiangxi last week, refused to comment on the President's approaching visit saying they are not authorized to do so.

A Chinese official said this will only be the third time that a head of state will visit Jiangxi , China 's copper capital with a population of 42.8 million. The first two were the chiefs of state of Namibia and Vietnam. This early however, the hosts are already laying the groundwork for the state visit. Last Tuesday, the President's advance party led by consul-general Emelinda Lee Pineda was given a tour of Nanchang University together with a 14-man delegation from Bohol led by Tagbilaran Mayor Dan Lim.

Lim was designated to head the delegation which is composed of chiefs of provincial government offices by Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado who was unavailable for the trip due to a previous engagement. A red streamer welcoming the President greeted the visitors at one of the university gates. Among the concerns which the Bohol-Jiangxi agreement will address are agriculture, tourism, mining industry, culture and education.   Aumentado, who is also president of both the League of Provinces of the Philippines and the Union of Local Administrators of the Philippines , will accompany Arroyo during her state visit to China in November.

The Philippine delegation was given a whistle-stop tour of Nanchang University , Jiangxi 's biggest university. The entrance to Nanchang University , which has a population of 83,000, features a giant “Statue of World Peace”, the second one of its kind sculptured by a local professor. Chinese officials who conducted the tour said the first statue was erected in Normandy , France.

The Philippine delegation was treated to a welcome dinner by Jiangxi officials led by Wu Xin Xong, vice Party secretary and deputy governor, Jiangxi 's third-ranked official.       During the ceremonies, Wu and Pineda paid tribute to Philippine-Chinese friendship but no details were given on the nature of the President's visit. Pineda expressed hopes that there will also be more Chinese investments in the Philippines considering that many Fil-Chinese businessmen invest heavily in China.

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