Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, visited Peking University in Beijing on Tuesday afternoon, along with a youth delegation from Taiwan.

"To promote cross-Straits exchanges between students is the most important original intention of my visit, and is also the goal of my efforts," Ma said during his visit to the university.

Ma added that he hopes the young people from both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan can pass on the spirit of Peking University to strive in peace and to revitalize China together.

The visit is expected to further promote the in-depth exchanges between universities on the Chinese mainland and Taiwan universities, as well as people from all walks of life in Taiwan, said Hao Ping, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Peking University Committee.

Peking University was the first university on the Chinese mainland to recruit students from Taiwan. Currently, there are more than 260 students and 16 teachers from Taiwan studying and working at Peking University, as well as many exchange students, visiting professors and visiting scholars from Taiwan, according to Gong Qihuang, president of Peking University.

At present, Peking University has established exchange and cooperation relationships with 17 universities and academic institutions in Taiwan, and has launched student exchange programs with seven Taiwan universities, Gong added.