Chinese war of words

The joint press conference at the end of the APEC ministerial meeting on Saturday became, at one point, an arena for the China versus Taiwan battle.

Journalists from Chinese Taipei, the official name for Taiwan at APEC, took turns in asking questions, first to the Japanese delegation about the possibility of inviting the Taiwanese president to the APEC leadership meeting next year.

Next, they asked Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen about the likelihood of China invading Taiwan. The question to Qian was posed in English and not in Mandarin, with which both are familiar, for the benefit of non-Chinese speaking journalists. (als)