Former Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian in Taipei in March 2008. (MN Chan/Getty Images)

It was reported that Chen had difficulty breathing and complained of pain on the left side of his chest for refusing to eat for five days running. Chen has said that his arrest is an act of political persecution.

Taiwan's Supreme Prosecutor's Office on the other hand, believes they have enough evidence to indict Chen on money-laundering charges. Chen is accused of falsifying finances and moving millions from his campaign donations to overseas bank accounts. In August, he apologized to the Taiwan people for is indiscretion and resigned from the Democratic Progressive Party.

While the last years of Chen's presidency was mired in corruption allegations that left him with record low-favorability ratings, Chen has gained support following his arrest as a result of recent talks between current Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou and representatives from the People's Republic of China, which views Taiwan as a renegade province.

In Chen's career, he has lived a series of firsts. He was Taiwan's youngest lawyer - passing the bar exam as a junior in college, he became the first non-Kuomintang Party politician elected president, and now he is the first former president to be jailed. If indicted, he could face up to five years in prison for money laundering.

Many China watchers are feeling at least a small sense of relief in an otherwise dreary world economy following China's announcement last night that it would implement at $586 billion domestic stimulus package over the next two years.

While some have compared China's historic policy to the FDR's New Deal in the 1930s, others have criticized the policy, saying that its aims are unclear, and that many of the plan's items had had already been in the works prior to the announcement. Read more...

Beijing representative Chen Yunlin (left) shakes hands with Taiwanese counterpart Chiang Pin-kung in Taipei this week. (SAM YEH/AFP/Getty Images)

In the highest-level talks between China and Taiwan in nearly 60 years, leaders from both sides shook hands, talked, and made major trade deals this week, in a historic meeting across the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwanese chief Ma Ying-jeou and Beijing's senior Taiwan envoy, Chen Yunlin, met yesterday in Taipei, amidst a backdrop of hundreds of slogan-shouting pro-Taiwanese independence protesters -- wary of any ties with mainland China.

The meeting was just one of many Chen has had with Taiwanese representatives since Nov. 3. The visit culminated in the signing of several trade and transportation agreements.

One such deal is a new direct airline route that will significantly cut the lengthly travel time that planes currently take to stop in Hong Kong first, before heading to either China or Taiwan.

First an African-American elected President of the United States, and now Chinese and Taiwanese leaders are getting along? What a week!

A Chinese woman poses for a photo with a paper cutout of President-elect Barack Obama after he defeated John McCain in the U.S. Presidential election. (Photo by Guang Niu/Getty Images)

In congratulation messages to Barack Obama after winning the U.S. Presidential election, both Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao wished the President-elect well -- And of course reminded him of U.S. stance that recognizes the PRC as the only China.

"In the new historic era, I look forward to working together with you to continuously strengthen dialog and exchanges between our two countries and enhance our mutual trust and cooperation on the basis of the three Sino-U.S. Joint Communiques...," Hu said.

Premier Wen Jiabao said pretty much the same thing, but added that he thought that they could make new progress on the China-U.S. relationship.

The three communiques are three statements that both the U.S. and People's Republic of China issued together in 1972, 1979, and 1982. They basically establish diplomatic relations between the two countries; state that the United States recognizes the PRC as the only China, and not Taiwan; and affirm that both nations want to strengthen ties.

Shen Dingli, a professor at Shanghai's Fudan University told the UK Telegraph that Obama is likely to cultivate a sense of greater international cooperation than President Bush did.

One concern China may have is that Obama could institute trade protectionist policies, writes Dune Lawrence of Bloomberg Radio. Obama's campaign promises of stricter labor and the environment regulation and pledge to reduce the U.S. trade deficit could signal protectionist tendencies. The global financial crisis may also cause the U.S. to trade less with other nations out of concern for its own markets and labor force.

But Lawrence notes that both Bush and Clinton were harder on China as candidates for president, than they were as President.

Whether or not President-elect Obama will have a similar approach, will be known after January 20th.

Expatriates and Chinese watch Barack Obama's victory speech at a hotel in Beijing, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)