Taiwan MP wants new national anthem

A member of the Taiwanese parliament has proposed a bill to choose a new national anthem.

Lin Yu-sheng, who belongs to the governing Democratic Progressive Party, said the current anthem is not suitable as it was the song of the former ruling party, the Kuomintang.

Mr Lin said national and party symbols should not be mixed up.

Many government supporters in Taiwan believe that the island should be more explicit in asserting its independence from China.

The Chinese president, Jiang Zemin offered earlier this month to restart talks with Taiwan, on the condition the island accepted it was part of a single Chinese nation.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service