Taiwan's vice president-elect headed to China: official

Taiwan's vice president-elect will head to China this week and could meet with President Hu Jintao, his spokesman said Sunday, amid optimism about improving ties between the cross-strait rivals.

Vincent Siew will head on Friday to Hainan island in southern China for the Boao Forum for Asia, a gathering of business people and officials focused on greater trade cooperation in Asia, his spokesman Wang Yu-chi told AFP.

Siew will attend the weekend forum in his capacity as the chief of a non-profit organisation he founded, Wang said.

When asked if Siew would meet the Chinese president, the spokesman said: "It is not certain if Mr Siew will meet with Hu. Details of Mr Siew's itinerary have not yet been finalised."

The Taipei-based China Times had quoted an unnamed Chinese official as saying that Hu — who will give the opening address at the Boao meeting on Friday — could meet with Siew on the sidelines of the forum.

The trip would come less than three weeks after the landslide presidential victory in Taiwan of the Kuomintang's Ma Ying-jeou, who is seen as more China-friendly than his predecessor, pro-independence Chen Shui-bian.

Ties between Taipei and Beijing hit new lows during Chen's eight years in office, but expectations have mounted since Ma's victory on March 22 of an easing of tensions, and a vast improvement in ties.

Ma — who takes office on May 20 — has pledged to work to improve trade, tourism and transport links to China and on a peace treaty to end decades of hostilities which began when Taiwan split from China in 1949 after a civil war.

Kuomintang lawmaker John Chiang — the grandson of late former leader Chiang Kai-shek — hailed the possible meeting but warned it would be "unrealistic to think that there would be great achievements" from any Hu-Siew talks.

Kao Chih-peng, a lawmaker from Chen's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said Siew's trip deserved close attention.

"It will be a barometer to test Taipei-Beijing ties, a good opportunity to see if Beijing will use the occasion to display its goodwill to Taipei," Kao said.