From the Washington Post (link)
Two days before departing for a visit to the United States, President Hu Jintao declared Sunday that China and Taiwan should resume long-severed official discussions as soon as possible to maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait.
Hu’s statement came in a televised meeting with Lien Chan, the former leader of Taiwan’s opposition Nationalist Party. In that context, Hu seemed to be emphasizing China’s willingness to reduce tensions and negotiate with Taiwan if the island’s independence-minded president, Chen Shui-bian, is voted out of power in elections scheduled for 2008.
