Taiwan's Chen hopes to meet Hu at APEC

Taiwan's Chen hopes to meet Hu at APEC

Reuters, Taipei

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian on Friday urged South Korea, host of this year's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, to let him attend the meeting so he can meet his counterpart from rival China.

Chen's request is likely to be rejected. Beijing, which views self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province, has shown no sign of being willing to engage the island's pro-independence leader.

Because of Chinese objections, no Taiwan political leader has yet attended an APEC summit. The island participates as an "economy" under the title "Chinese Taipei".

"I am certain under the leadership of South Korean President Roh, he can help facilitate a meeting between leaders on both sides of the Strait in Korea, where an APEC summit will be held in November," Chen told South Korean diplomats.

"Reconciliation and dialog across the Taiwan Strait is the common expectation of the international community and the APEC summit is the most appropriate occasion for leaders of the two sides to make contact and talk," Chen said.

Chen has earlier suggested meeting Chinese President Hu Jintao in a third country, but Beijing said any such meeting should be held on Chinese soil.

This year Hu met leaders from Taiwan's three opposition parties who favor closer ties with the mainland. Analysts saw this as part of a divide-and-conquer strategy to sideline Chen.

Taipei and Beijing have been diplomatic and military rivals since their split at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Beijing insists that the rest of the world treat Taiwan as a Chinese province.

Taiwan boycotted the APEC summit in Shanghai in 2001 after China refused to send an invitation to Chen's envoy, former vice president Li Yuan-zu.

China had seen Li as a political choice and demanded Taipei send a representative with an economic portfolio.

For the past three years, President Chen has sent Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh to attend APEC on his behalf.