BREAKING four days of silence about his meetings with Lee Kuan Yew, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian said Singapore's Senior Minister was not serving as an emissary for Beijing when he visited this week.

Many speculated that the 77-year-old former prime minister was carrying a special message from mainland leaders, whom he met in June. Mr Lee, who left Taiwan on September 26, helped set up an historic meeting between Taiwanese and mainland envoys in 1993 but Beijing accused him on Tuesday of meddling in China's internal affairs by visiting Taipei.

Mr Chen said yesterday Mr Lee "was not a mediator, nor an emissary". He said the two discussed Taiwan's political changes and its relations with the mainland, and he praised Mr Lee for his sharp political observations of the region. Trade was also a topic, Mr Chen said, and the two men discussed proposals to forge a free trade agreement and telecoms alliances.

Also yesterday, Winston Wang, the son of a Taiwanese tycoon, disputed a lawmaker's accusation that he had been Mr Chen's secret emissary to Beijing. Legislator Chin Hui-chu of the People First Party made the accusations on Tuesday, noting that Mr Wang is close to Jiang Mianheng, son of President Jiang Zemin.