A former vice president of Taiwan met China’s top leader on Tuesday, state media reported, in the latest high-level encounter between the two sides amid steadily closer relations.
Lien Chan, also an honorary chairman of Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party, met President Xi Jinping at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency said. It did not immediately provide details of what was discussed.
The four-day visit by Lien, who arrived on Monday, follows the first government-to-government talks between Taiwan and China since they split 65 years ago after a civil war.
In an apparent nod to the political sensitivities of China-Taiwan encounters, the Xinhua report described Xi by his party title of “general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee” rather than as state president.
Similarly Lien was described as “Kuomintang Honorary Chairman” and not as a former vice president of the island.
According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, Lien told reporters in Taipei on Monday that he was not representing any organisation or political party, nor would he convey any message to Xi from Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou.