China refuses to commit itself to Asian Games

China refuses to commit itself to Asian Games

BEIJING (Reuter): China yesterday declined to rule out a boycott of the Asian Games and warned Japan of grave consequences if it did not reverse its decision to grant entry to a senior official from arch rival Taiwan.

The Games are due to start in Hiroshima on Oct. 2, with a record 7,300 athletes and officials from 42 nations attending. China will have the largest delegation.

Chen Jian, spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said Taiwan was using the visit by Vice Premier Hsu Li-teh to "squeeze into" the games with the purpose of creating what he called "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan".

The Communist government maintains that there is only one China with Taiwan a constituent, if rebellious, province.

Tokyo has pledged to issue a visa to Hsu in his capacity as chairman of a committee heading Taiwan's bid to host the 2002 Asian Games and said his visa was unrelated to politics.

Chen declined to say whether China has decided to attend or boycott the games and would not give a date by which such a decision would have to be made.

"We hope the Japanese government will realise the possibility of grave consequences" of allowing Hsu to enter Japan for the games, Chen said without further explanation. He called China's opposition to Hsu's attendance "an important matter of political principle".

He said China hoped Japan would reconsider "so as to prevent Sino-Japanese relations from being impaired".

Japan's Kyodo news service has reported that China has apparently cancelled State Councillor Li Tieying's plans to visit Japan to attend the games' opening ceremony.

Chen indicated that Li's plans had been affected by the row.

He said the postponement of a scheduled visit by Japan's Minister of International Trade and Industry was related to the busy schedule of his Chinese counterpart, not to the dispute over the games.

Visa

A Japanese diplomat said Tokyo has decided to issue the visa to Hsu and that it would be very difficult to reverse the decision.

"We have asked for China's understanding. Hsu is coming in his capacity as the chairman of the committee on Taiwan's bid to host the 2002 Asian Games," he said.

Diplomatic sources said the foreign ministries of China and Japan had agreed that, in exchange for cancelling a visa for Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, Tokyo would give one to Hsu as a compromise.

"Beijing initially agreed to this. Tokyo was startled when Beijing began to object so strongly to it. Apparently, someone higher up in the Chinese leadership objected to the deal and demanded a protest," one source said.

Meanwhile, the first Taiwanese athletes began to arrive yesterday and shrugged off the diplomatic row, saying they were in Hiroshima to compete.

"We're sportsmen, not politicians," equestrian team coach Zhong Yan-hue told a news conference in Hiroshima.

"We'll maintain friendly relations with the mainland Chinese athletes like we have at other international competitions until now," he said.