Taiwan's envoy meets with Hu at APEC

Taiwan's envoy meets with Hu at APEC

TAIWAN: Taiwan's envoy to last week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit said on Thursday his encounter with Chinese President Hu Jintao was too brief to allow him to discuss tensions between the foes.

Lee Yuan-tseh, who attended the APEC summit on Nov. 20 and 21 because China objects to the presence of officials from the island it claims as a breakaway province, said his chat with Hu was friendly.

"We had opportunities to interact during the meeting. But an encounter of only a few minutes was not to resolve disputes," Lee, a 1986 co-winner of the Nobel prize for chemistry, told a news conference.

"We could feel each other's goodwill. Time was short and we did not focus on cross-Strait issues " Lee said, declining to give other details.

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, who has called for a resumption of talks with Beijing, said such exchanges were conducive to better ties.

Taipei and Beijing, rivals since a civil war ended in 1949, have not been on speaking terms since 1999 when then president Lee Teng-hui redefined ties as "special state to state".

Tensions have been simmering in the Taiwan Strait since the re-election of the pro-independence Chen last March because Beijing is convinced the Taiwan leader wants to push for formal statehood before his second term ends in 2008. --Reuters