Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian has admitted holding a second meeting with the leader of Taiwan's second-biggest opposition leader in addition to their landmark meeting on February 24.
The admission, which came during Mr Chen's tour of Pacific island allies, has come as a surprise in Taiwan, with the rival pro-independence and pro-unification camps questioning whether there were secret dealings between the two.
'Chairman [James] Soong [Chu-yu] must clearly tell the opposition supporters what was said in the meeting and in what capacity he visited the mainland,' said legislator Fei Hung-tai, of the pro-unification New Party.
He said secret meetings like that between Mr Chen and Mr Soong often backfire because no one knows what they said and naturally become suspicious.
While en route to Marshall Island on Sunday, Mr Chen revealed for the first time he had had a second meeting with Mr Soong, chairman of the People First Party (PFP), after their first one on February 24, during which the two reached a 10-point consensus on cross-strait and internal political reconciliation.
That meeting was widely viewed in Taiwan as a tactic by Mr Chen to break the alliance between the PFP and the Kuomintang which together hold a slight majority in the Legislative Yuan.