Island reacts positively to historic Beijing meeting despite permit refusal

The historic meeting between Mr Koo and President Jiang Zemin received a largely positive reaction in Taiwan.

While there was widespread dissatisfaction with Beijing's refusal to permit a major opposition figure, Kang Ning-hsiang, to accompany Mr Koo, there was praise for the delegation's performance.

Hsu Hsin-liang, a former chairman of Taiwan's opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said Mr Koo's visit had been 'very successful'.

Mr Hsu, who aired his views last night on a special TV news programme about the Jiang-Koo talks, said he thought both sides gained something from the meeting and the visit was 'effective' in reducing cross-strait tensions.

'For China, they can say that at least Taiwan has begun a political dialogue,' he said.

Mr Hsu praised Mr Koo's decision to tell Mr Jiang democratisation would be important for reunification.