Taiwan complains of media controls at China talks

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese and Taiwanese officials were all smiles on Friday after signing a landmark deal on flights, but in one area Taiwan was not happy -- the controls on its normally freewheeling press corps.

Taiwan has a free, open and highly competitive media, some of whom accompanied the island's chief negotiator, P.K. Chiang, to Beijing for the talks, whereas China's state controlled press is tightly controlled and staid in comparison.

China limited access to the media for much of the talks, aside from a few photo opportunities, though the Taiwanese delegation held regular news conferences at which all were welcome.

"I've already spoken about the parts which were imperfect -- the other side's arrangement for our reporters," Chiang told a news conference after signing an agreement for direct, weekend charter flights between the two sides.

"If there is an opportunity in the future to get together, we will certainly listen to everyone's opinions so that at the next meeting everyone can have a much better feeling," he added.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since defeated Nationalist forces fled to the island amid civil war in 1949. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.

While China has embarked upon a massive economic liberalization program, the ruling Communist Party still maintains a monopoly over political power and has limited tolerance for dissent, especially in the media.

Taiwan, by contrast, is now a multi-party democracy which has a press used to being granted wide freedom to report.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)