Taipei - A visit by China's highest-ranking official to Taiwan since 1949 continued to draw protests Thursday from Taiwanese concerned that his visit could lead to eventual Chinese control of Taiwan.

Thursday's event - a five-minute meeting at the Taipei Guest House between Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin - was held as thousands of Taiwanese outside shouted "Taiwan is Taiwan, China is China," and "No selling out of Taiwan."

New Delhi  - Representatives of the Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, who returned to India on Thursday after a week's visit to China, said they had presented a memorandum to the Chinese leadership on "genuine autonomy."

The main purpose of the trip was to follow up discussions held in July, Kasur Lodi Gyari, who led the delegation, said in a statement.

He said the delegation had briefed Samdhong Rimpoche, prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

New Delhi, Nov. 6 : A Tibetan delegation that visted China for autonomy-related talks between October 30 and November 5, today briefed the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile, Samdhong Rinpoche, about the outcome of the deliberations.

In a statement issued here, Special Envoy Kasur Lodi Gyari, said that the Eighth Round of Tibetan-Chinese discussions was a follow up on the discussions held during the seventh round in July this year.

Hong Kong  - Letters calling for higher pay signed by 19,000 Hong Kong police officers, more than two thirds of the city's force, were Thursday handed to a government advisory body.

The letter campaign is the biggest in the force's history and follows a long fight for better pay rates by associations representing rank and file officers in the former British colony.

Staff associations are calling for new pay scales that would add an average of 230 US dollars a month to the pay packets of the city's 27,000-strong police force.

Beijing - China on Thursday released a well-known dissident after he served more than nine years of a 13-year prison sentence, a Hong Kong-based rights group said.

Veteran activist Liu Xianbin was released from the Chandong prison in the south-western province of Sichuan, the Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said.

Liu, 40, had returned to his family in Sichuan's Suining city following his early release for good behaviour, the group said.

Beijing - Shares on China's main stock market fell by 2.44 per cent Thursday after an overnight plunge on Wall Street.

The key Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks shares traded in foreign and local currencies, closed at 1,717.72, down 42.89 points, or 2.44 per cent.

The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index lost 1.67 per cent, or 7.85 points, to end the day on 463.01.

Both markets had risen by just more than 3 per cent Wednesday.