Chinese leader Hu Jintao met with former Taiwanese vice president Lien Chan Friday in Lima, in a historic meeting that was the first high-level encounter between both parties outside China or Taiwan, according to dpa. The two men met at the Los Delfines Hotel in the Peruvian capital ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' meeting, to which member economy Taiwan has for the first time been able to send a high-level representative. In a press conference after meeting with Hu, Lien refused to provide details of the actual content of the talks, and said simply that the two parties exchanged "views on APEC's agenda." "It is very significant for old friends to meet each other far away from Asia," he said. Lien stressed the fact that "cross-strait relations have moved forward in the direction of peace" and noted that while he and Hu discussed APEC-related economic and trade issues, the two of them "should not avoid other issues."
