Taiwan's representative to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hanoi briefly met with both US President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao on Saturday, according to the Central News Agency. Taiwan was represented by Morris Chang, chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest chipmaker, because China bars Taiwan's president from attending the annual gathering while permitting a business delegate to participate.
Bush approached Chang at the opening of the two-day summit and told him, 'I know who you are.' Hu offered the same words when Chang came over to greet him. Chang declined to reveal what was discussed, saying there had been no opportunity to address substantive matters.
Chang said he also hoped to hold separate meetings with leaders from the 21 member economies present, and a session with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was arranged for Sunday. He would not confirm whether he had conveyed any message from Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian to Hu Jintao.
Taiwan, formally recognized by only 24 countries, regards the APEC forum as a valuable venue for high-level contact with foreign governments that it cannot easily reach through conventional diplomatic channels.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in November 2006, in its own words.