Presidents of China and Taiwan to meet Saturday

Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in Singapore on Saturday, the first such meeting since 1949, The New York Times reported, citing official statements from both sides. Ma’s spokesman said the two would meet to exchange ideas about improving relations, though no agreements were expected. The meeting comes ahead of Taiwan’s January presidential and legislative elections in which Beijing – which views Taiwan as a renegade province – favors Ma’s pro-integration Kuomintang Party over the more cautious Democratic Progressive Party, whose candidate Tsai Ing-wen has held a commanding lead in polls of the electorate over the past year.