CHINA expressed "regret" September 26 over Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's visit to Taiwan and accused him of meddling in China's internal affairs.

It warned further contacts may harm his country's relations with Beijing.

"The question of Taiwan is China's internal affair, something for the Chinese people to solve," Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi said. "By Chinese people, I mean people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait."

"We urge the Singapore side to honour its word and refrain from doing anything that might undermine the relations between the two countries," Mr Sun said, referring to China and Singapore.

Taiwan officials have confirmed that Mr Lee held a second meeting with Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian before departing for home yesterday.

Reports had widely speculated that Mr Lee was acting as an emissary between both sides of the Taiwan Strait, as he visited top leaders in Beijing earlier this year.

Presidential Office spokesman Chen Che-nan said the people of Taiwan should trust their President and assured the public that no secret deals were made.

The meeting was held after Mr Lee met Nobel Prize-winning scholar Lee Yuan-tseh, who heads a presidential advisory panel on cross-strait affairs, earlier in the day.

Premier Tang Fei said he was confident Mr Lee's visit would have "positive" consequences for the island.