Premier Wu Den-yih said Thursday that he foresees enhanced relations between Taiwan and Hong Kong after the establishment of a cooperative platform between the two sides. Wu was referring to the Taipei-based Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co- operation Council and its Hong Kong counterpart -- the Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council -- that were set up by the governments of the two sides recently to handle mutual exchanges. Wu, after hearing a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) report on the Taiwan-Hong Kong platform at a Cabinet meeting, said that Hong Kong was Taiwan's fourth- largest trading partner last year, with bilateral trade totaling US$30.6 billion and 2.86 million travelers between the two. He asked government agencies to make good use of the platform to further exchanges with Hong Kong in the fields of finance, transportation, investment, education and culture. In a ceremony marking the opening of the Taiwan council May 26, MAC Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan said that the council and its Hong Kong counterpart will deal not only with issues related to civilian exchanges, but also with issues involving 'official matters' on the two sides. Former Finance Minister Lin Chen-kuo serves as the chairman of the council, while MAC Vice Chairman Kao Charng is the vice chairman and MAC's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Department Director Chu Hsi is the secretary-general. Hong Kong's role as a major transit hub for trade and tourism between Taiwan and China has been greatly weakened as a result of warmer cross-strait relations since President Ma Ying-jeou took office in 2008. 