Mr. Koo is chairman of Taiwan's semi-official Straits Exchange Program. He says he also is encouraging his mainland counterpart, Wang Dao Han, to visit Taiwan. Mr. Wang was scheduled to visit the island this fall. That trip was called off in July, after Taiwan President Lee Teng Hui insisted China and Taiwan negotiate their differences as two equal states. President Lee's remarks provoked China to respond with a barrage of verbal attacks, demanding the statement be revoked.
China contends Taiwan is merely a renegade province of China.
The talks failed to yield a breakthrough, but both sides agreed to meet again. Historically, Beijing has refused to rule out the use of force to bring Taiwan under Beijing's control.