The visits to China by the leaders of Tai-wan's two biggest opposition parties in late April and early May have been hailed in China, and more guardedly by America, as a welcome easing of tensions across the Taiwan strait. One man, though, takes a much more cautious view. He is Taiwan's president, Chen Shui-bian. "[The Chinese] want to split Taiwan, incite Taiwan and create divisions in Taiwan in order to achieve their political aim of isolating the Taiwan government, including President Ah-bian," says Mr Chen, referring to himself by his nickname. He accuses Lien Chan of the Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT) and James Soong of the far smaller People First Party (PFP) of being "very naieve" in their expectations of China's willingness to compromise, and criticises them for allegedly failing to stress Taiwan's sovereignty during their trips.
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