[JURIST] Taiwan opposition leader Lien Chan [BBC News profile] and Chinese President Hu Jintao [official profile] agreed on Friday to end decades of hostility and to work to avoid dangerous tensions in the Taiwan Strait during a historic meeting in Beijing. The impact of the meeting remains in doubt, after Taiwan's government criticized the meeting [AP report] and said it would do little to improve relations between the neighboring countries. Taiwan's ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party [official website], has backed a declaration of independence for Taiwan [JURIST news archive], which China has maintained as its own territory since the end of World War II. The meeting between Lien and Hu has been seen as a move by the Chinese government to divide Taiwan's political parties over the issue. Lien, who leads the opposition Kuomintang party [Wikipedia article], said the burden was on the DPP to make progress in relations between the countries, but the DPP's support for independence has soured diplomatic dialogue since the party took power. Reuters has more.