A delegation of Salt Lake County leaders, including Mayor Peter Corroon, is in Taiwan through next week to tour businesses and cultural facilities and solidify sister-county ties with Nantou.

But, county officials insist, don't call the trip a junket. The economic-development trek, which includes a tour of government offices, will not cost taxpayers a dime.

"No public funds are being used," Corroon spokeswoman Audrey Smith said Friday.

She noted Corroon and his wife will be lodging for part of the week at the magistrate house of Nantou County Mayor Lee Chao-Ching.

Rounding out the group touring the southeast Asian economic power: County Council members Jim Bradley and Marv Hendrickson, Deputy Mayor Karen Suzuki-Okabe, economic-development director Dale Carpenter and Scott Beck, the county's Convention and Visitors Bureau director.

"It's being funded by the [Taiwanese] government that invited them," confirmed County Auditor Jeff Hatch.

Any spouses on the trip are paying their own way, Smith said.

The county's international visit comes as a contingent of Utah legislators and their spouses gear up for a "trade mission" to the Liaoning Province, mainland China's most industrialized area. The legislators' upcoming excursion will be funded by the Taiwanese government. Lawmakers have set aside $18,000 for the jaunt, but may spend more.

Some state leaders have questioned the move, wondering about the purpose. But most defend the travel as a means to create new economic links and expand educational and cultural exchanges.

Smith said Corroon was approached about his trip after officials from Nantou, Taiwan, came to Utah for a sister-city event involving Magna. The mayor, Smith added, hopes to use his week overseas finding ways to "cross-promote" the county.

"It doesn't pose a big concern," said Matthew Burbank, a political science professor at the University of Utah. "If this were a private corporation paying for it, it would be more problematic."

Burbank noted the invitation is a classic example of efforts by Taiwanese leaders to curry favor with officials in the United States.

"I don't think they're looking for anything in particular," he said. "There isn't a whole lot of advantage to be gained" by the county.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. led a similar trade mission to China last year. Utah legislative leaders also take biennial trips to Taiwan, funded by a lobbyist.

djensen@sltrib.com