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Beijing pressures Taiwan to accept 'one China' |
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May 17, 2000 BEIJING,
MAY 16 (AP) - After thwarting
a Taiwanese bid for observer status in the World Health Organization,
China offered Tuesday to discuss Taiwan's participation in international
activities if the island accepts that it is a part of China.
Maintaining
pressure on Taiwanese President-elect Chen Shui-bian ahead of his
inauguration Saturday, China's official Xinhua News Agency said the only
way to ease tensions between the two sides was for Taiwan's new leadership
to accept the "one China principle."
"Continuing
to deny that Taiwan is a part of China, maintaining the position of
'Taiwan independence,' can only have disastrous consequences for
relations," Xinhua said in a commentary. "Whoever does that will
go down in history as a criminal of the Chinese people."
Chen,
who was elected March 18, says he is willing to discuss the idea of 'one
China' but not as a precondition for talks. But Beijing insists Taiwan
must recognize the "one China principle" before talks can begin.
Beijing
is suspicious of Chen because his Democratic Progressive Party favors
independence for Taiwan, a move China says it would use force to prevent.
Even though Taiwan and China have been ruled separately since they split
amid civil war 51 years ago, Beijing says the two sides are part of one
country that must be reunited.
To
pressure Taiwan into talks on unification, China has used its diplomatic
clout to isolate the island internationally. On Monday, China foiled
Taiwan's fourth bid for observer status in United Nation's World Health
Organization.
Beijing
maintains that, as a part of China, Taiwan is not qualified to join
international organizations which require members to be sovereign states.
China and its allies repeated that argument before the World Health
Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.
But
in its commentary, Xinhua said that under the one China principle,
"every problem can be discussed."
Within
that framework, Taiwan's participation in international economic, social
and cultural activities that are "in keeping with its status,"
as well as "Taiwanese authorities' political standing," can be
resolved through political negotiations in the course of peaceful
unification, Xinhua said.
China
has offered Taiwan a high degree of autonomy, similar to that granted the
former British colony of Hong Kong, if it agrees to reunification. Taiwan
has rejected the idea, saying it is a sovereign state, not a colony.
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