Chen leading Taiwan to disaster: China
Chen leading Taiwan to disaster: China
Jeremy Page and Benjamin Kang Lim, Reuters, Beijing/Taipei
China told Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian on Monday he was
leading the island to disaster by backing a referendum on
independence, as Taipei tried to contain the fallout from his
boldest statement since taking power.
A Beijing spokesman said Chen proved he was determined to seek
independence for an island China sees as a rebel province and has
threatened to attack if it declares statehood.
"We seriously warn Taiwan splittist forces not to wrongly
judge the situation, to immediately stop the horse at the edge of
the precipice and to stop all splittist activities," said Li
Weiyi, spokesman for the cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office.
Beijing had been trying to avoid a spat with Taiwan in the
sensitive run-up to a leadership change later in the year, but
Chen appears to be taking advantage of the reshuffle and strong
U.S. support to steal ground on the issue, analysts said.
In his strongest comments on it since taking office in 2000,
Chen said on Saturday that holding a referendum was a "basic
human right" and in reality there was "one country on each side"
of the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan's top policymaker on China sought to play down Chen's
remarks, saying they did not signal a change of policy and were
aimed at safeguarding the current position.
"Do not over-interpret" Chen's comments, said Tsai Ing-wen,
head of the cabinet's Mainland Affairs Council.
"We do not want the independence and sovereignty we enjoy now
to be destroyed or changed," she told a news conference hours
before leaving for the United States with Premier Yu Shyi-kun.
Tsai said she would reassure U.S. officials -- who said there
was no change in Washington's adherence to a "one China" policy
-- that there had been no shift in Taipei's stance.
A Taiwan military spokesman said there were no abnormal troop
movements on the mainland, but Taiwan's stock market plunged
almost 6 percent to an eight-month low over fears of a crisis in
cross-Strait ties.
Taiwan businessmen have sunk up to US$100 billion into China
since relations began thawing in the late 1980s and they are now
ignoring appeals from Chen to invest elsewhere.
China advocates peaceful reunification on the "one country,
two systems" deal given to the former European colonies of Hong
Kong Kong and Macau, but refuses to renounce the use of force.
That threat was repeated only last week as China celebrated
the 75th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
However, military analysts say the PLA will not have the air
and sea power to overwhelm an island heavily armed with superior
weaponry until somewhere between 2005 and 2010.
Analysts say Taiwan is keen to steal ground while it has the
military advantage and the strong backing of the U.S.
administration of President George W. Bush, who has said he will
do "whatever it takes" to help Taiwan defend itself.
Chen also appears to be using the distraction of the
leadership transition in Beijing to reinforce Taiwan's standing
with key allies like the United States, some analysts say.
"There is a sense that Chen is taking advantage of the
paralysis in decision making that surrounds the leadership
transition," said one Western diplomat.
"Chen's seeing how far he can push the envelope while still
being able to claim he has said nothing new."
When Chen took office in May 2000, he extended an olive branch
to Beijing by promising not to declare statehood or push for an
independence referendum, but on condition China abandon invasion
threats.