Shanghai, March 31
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh arrived here on the second leg of his five-day visit to China that has seen a warming of relations between the two Asian giants.

Mr Jaswant Singh was received by senior officials of the Chinese Foreign Ministry at the airport.

The External Affairs Minister visited the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Shanghai City History Museum. He will later call on city Deputy Mayor Zhao Muyau, who will host a banquet in his honour tonight.

Mr Singh will deliver a lecture at the International Study Institute here tomorrow and meet regional leaders.

China is the first stop in Mr Jaswant Singh’s three-nation tour that will also take him to South Korea and Myanmar.

India has said it will adhere to the ‘one-China’ policy concerning Taiwan, an ultra-sensitive issue for China.

Taipei, March 31
Four persons were killed and more than 200 injured as Taiwan was shaken today by a powerful earthquake that started fires, cracked walls and sent two high-rise cranes crashing to the ground, authorities and media reports said.

The Central Weather Bureau said the magnitude 6.8 quake was centered near Hualien, 180 km east of Taipei, the island’s capital. It lasted for nearly a minute, the bureau said. In Taipei, buildings rocked back and forth, cracks appeared in walls and startled people ran from homes and churches. State radio reported several small fires.

Four persons were killed when two cranes fell from the 60th floor of a high-rise building under construction, the police said. The police did not identify the four, but state radio said a crane operator and three other construction workers were killed. About 10 others were hurt by steel rods and other objects that rained down from the building site.

A five-storey apartment building in central Taipei collapsed, but all seven persons, including a 10-year-old girl, trapped under the rubble were rescued within hours. About 210 persons were injured and several buildings were badly damaged. Roads in mountainous regions were blocked by rockslides but air transport was not affected.