BBSNEWS20080528

Historic China-Taiwan summit held

The head of Taiwan's ruling party has met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in the highest-level encounter since the two sides split in 1949.

Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung is in China for a six-day landmark visit to discuss cross-strait transport links.

The trip is being seen as another sign of warming ties between the two sides.

Taiwan's new president, Ma Ying-jeou, has called for a new "chapter of peace" to be opened.

As he left Taiwan on Monday, Mr Wu said his 16-member delegation bore a great responsibility.

"I hope the visit will help develop positive cross-strait ties, ensure security of Taiwan people, maintain welfare of Taiwan people and push for the government's China policy," he said.

On Tuesday Mr Wu held talks with Jia Qinglin, a high-ranking Communist Party official.

The agenda included establishing direct cross-strait flights and allowing more Chinese tourists into Taiwan.

The BBC's Caroline Gluck in Taipei says Mr Wu is not authorised to sign any documents with Chinese officials.

And some analysts have said that China is calling the shots by allowing this high profile meeting to take place before a visit by the head of Taiwan's semi-official body, the Straits Exchange Foundation, the only organisation designated by Taipei to hold negotiations with Beijing in the absence of official contacts.

Nevertheless Mr Ma has said he welcomes this latest visit, our correspondent adds.

He says contacts between the two sides' ruling parties could serve as what he calls a "second track" in helping to improve and promote friendlier relations between Taiwan and China.

China says that Taiwan is part of its territory, although the two have been separately governed since 1949.

Beijing has previously threatened to attack Taiwan if the self-ruled island ever proclaimed independence.

BBCNEWS20080527

Peacekeepers 'abusing children'

Children as young as six are being sexually abused by peacekeepers and aid workers, says a leading UK charity.

Children in post-conflict areas are being abused by the very people drafted into such zones to help look after them, says Save the Children.

After research in Ivory Coast, southern Sudan and Haiti, the charity said an international watchdog should be created to deal with the issue.

The UN has said it welcomes the report, which it will study closely.

Save the Children said the most shocking aspect of child sex abuse is that most of it goes unreported and unpunished, with children too scared to speak out.

No support

A 13-year-old girl described to the BBC how 10 UN peacekeepers gang-raped her in a field near her Ivory Coast home, and left her bleeding, trembling and vomiting on the ground.

No action has been taken against the soldiers.

The report also found that aid workers have been sexually abusing boys and girls.

After research involving hundreds of children from Ivory Coast, southern Sudan and Haiti, the charity said better reporting mechanisms needed to be introduced to deal with what it called "endemic failures" in responding to reported cases of abuse.

It also said efforts should be made to strengthen worldwide child protection systems.

Heather Kerr, Save the Children's Ivory Coast country director, says little is being done to support the victims.

"It's a minority of people but they are using their power to sexually exploit children and children that don't have the voice to report about this.

"They are suffering sexual exploitation and abuse in silence."

Save the Children says the international community has promised a policy of zero-tolerance to child sexual abuse, but that this is not being followed up by action on the ground.

A UN spokesman, Nick Birnback, said that it was impossible to ensure "zero incidents" within an organisation that has up to 200,000 personnel serving around the world.

"What we can do is get across a message of zero tolerance, which for us means zero complacency when credible allegations are raised and zero impunity when we find that there has been malfeasance that's occurred," he told the BBC.

exploit[use well]
to use something for advantage:
We need to make sure that we exploit our resources as fully as possible.

exploit[use unfairly]
to use someone or something unfairly for your own advantage:
Laws exist to stop companies exploiting their employees.

zero tolenrance
when all criminal or unacceptable behaviour, even if not very serious, is punished severely:
The police are exercising a new policy of zero tolerance against motoring offenders.

BBCNEWS20080526

China condemns Dalai Lama meeting

China has criticised Gordon Brown for taking part in talks with Tibet's exiled leader, the Dalai Lama.

The two men had a 30-minute discussion at the Archbishop of Canterbury's official residence, Lambeth Palace in London, on Friday.

Foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the meeting "interfered" in China's internal affairs.

The leaders discussed human rights and ways to help China in the aftermath of the 12 May earthquake.

Mr Brown's spokesman said they also talked about "the importance of the dialogue between the Dalai Lama's representatives and the Chinese authorities".

"The PM expressed his determination to work with both sides to encourage reconciliation," he said.

But in a statement published on the Foreign Ministry's website, Mr Qin condemned the meeting and an invitation for the Dalai Lama to testify before a British parliamentary hearing on China's human rights record.

He said: "This is interference in China's internal affairs and also seriously hurts the feelings of the Chinese people."

But the Dalai Lama played down the controversy while talking to MPs on Thursday.

"For me - no differences. So long as meeting and talk - that is important. I always meet on the level we are human beings," he told the Foreign Affairs Committee.

'Cultural genocide'

He said his people were facing a form of "cultural genocide" at the hands of China and that Britain was not doing enough to help the Tibetan people.

But the exiled leader acknowledged there were "limitations" on what foreign governments could do.

China and Tibet have long disagreed over the status of Tibet, and China sent troops into the region to enforce a territorial claim in 1950.

The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile have been based in India since fleeing Tibet nine years later.

China says Tibet has officially been part of the Chinese nation since the mid-13th Century and so should continue to be ruled by Beijing.

Many Tibetans disagree, pointing out that the Himalayan region was an independent kingdom for many centuries, and that Chinese rule over Tibet has not been constant.

aftermath:
the period which follows an unpleasant event or accident, and the effects which it causes:
Many more people died in the aftermath of the explosion.

reconciliation:
when two people or groups of people become friendly again after they have argued:
It tooks hours of negotiations to bring about a reconsiliation between the two sides.

play down:
to make something seem less important or less bad than it really is:
Military spokespeople tried to play down the seriousness of the disaster.

genocide:
[U] the murder of a whole group of people, especially a whole nation, race or religious group:
victims of genocide