11.   Beijing frequently warns countries with which it has diplomatic ties to shun contacts with Taiwanese officials.

12.   China considers Taiwan a renegade province with no right of self-government, and the two sides have shunned official contacts.

13.   Despite health campaigns to teach Egyptians how the disease is transmitted, many shun any contact with AIDS patients, who are usually detained in hospitals.

14.   Despite their growing trade, Russia has shunned official contacts with Taiwan to avoid provoking Beijing.

15.   Egypt has shunned high-level contacts with Israel since Sharon was elected in February.

16.   Early in the crisis, the West shunned contacts with the rebels, preferring to deal with moderate ethnic Albanian pacifist leader Ibrahim Rugova.

17.   For decades, Balthus shunned public contact.

18.   It does not recognize Beijing as the sole ruler of China and shuns official contacts with it.

19.   Relations between the two Koreas are icy, with the North shunning official contact with Seoul, which it regards as a U.S. puppet.

20.   Such a shift would signal the triumph of economic pragmatism over Nationalist ideology, which has always shunned direct contact with the Communist mainland.