Beijing drives home one-China stance

Beijing drives home one-China stance

CHINA: Beijing bristled on Saturday at Taiwan President Chen
Shui-bian's plans to send a delegation of negotiators from his
party to China, saying they would only be welcome if the party
abandoned its pro-independence platform.

An official of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council,
China's cabinet, said Taiwan needed to take "practical and
sincere" actions to back up overtures Chen made in a speech on
Thursday, the official China Daily reported.

"Delegations of the Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
are welcome to visit the mainland, provided that the DPP accept
the one-China principle and give up its 'Taiwan independence'
platform," the newspaper quoted the unnamed official saying.

Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a breakaway province, has
refused to deal with Chen and his ruling DPP and threatened to
attack the self-governing island if it declares statehood or
drags its feet on reunification. -- Reuters