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 | James Soong (L), chairman of the People First Party (PFP) in Taiwan, shakes hands with Wang Daohan (R), president of the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits, a major non-governmental conduit for cross-Strait contacts, in Shanghai May 8, 2005. Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, facing criticism from members of his own party over opposition leaders' visits to mainland China, called a meeting to defend his stance and pledged to uphold the island's sovereignty. click to open  |  | James Soong, the head of Taiwan's second-largest opposition party, the People First Party, left, is greeted by Wang Daohan, chairman of the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, right, in Shanghai, China Sunday May 8, 2005. Soong called for reconciliation between Taipei and Beijing based on their common cultural roots. click to open |  | Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian, right, welcomes Guatemala's President Oscar Berger Perdomo before the opening ceremony of the Democratic Pacific Union, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2005, in Taipei, Taiwan. Perdomo is in Taiwan for the inauguration of the Democratic Pacific Union, an international organization aiming at bolstering relations with countries in Asia and Latin America. Taiwan expects the founding of the union will help in its rivalry with China, which tries to prevent the island from joining international organizations. China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949, but Beijing still claims sovereignty over the self-ruled, democratic island, saying it should not be allowed to have diplomatic relations. click to open |  | Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian, right, sits next to Guatemala's President Oscar Berger Perdomo during the opening ceremony of the Democratic Pacific Union, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2005, in Taipei, Taiwan. Perdomo is in Taiwan for the inauguration of the Democratic Pacific Union, an international organization aiming at bolstering relations with countries in Asia and Latin America. Taiwan expects the founding of the union will help in its rivalry with China, which tries to prevent the island from joining international organizations. China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949, but Beijing still claims sovereignty over the self-ruled, democratic island, saying it should not be allowed to have diplomatic relations. click to open |  | Breaking the ice: Taiwanese envoy Koo Chen-fu (left) talks with mainland counterpart Wang Daohan in the pair's long-awaited meeting in Shanghai. click to open |  | Wang Daohan ex-mayor of Shanghai, and Koo Chen-fu, head of Taiwan's semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation meet Wednesday after Koo's arrival in Shanghai for ground-breaking talks and negotiations. [AP Photo] click to open |  | A breakthrough in cross-strait relationship was witnessed in April of 1993, when top negotiators from China (Wang Daohan) and Taiwan (Ku Chen-foo) engaged in a face-to-face talk in Singapore. The photo shown the historical moment when a friendly hand-shake was made before the meeting. click to open |
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