For those of you who underestimate the power of this humble blog, hot on the heels of last Friday's look at the decades-long glacial relationship between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan (TAIPEI, sorry), comes this headline today sent in by a loyal reader:

AP - TAIPEI, Taiwan - Representatives of Taiwan and China held their first official talks on Tuesday since the end of China's civil war in 1949, a meeting expected to produce few concrete results but one that was a symbolic development in the easing of the two sides' longtime rivalry.

Guess they just needed a gentle push...