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Change Your Life! |
Beijing warns Taiwan's new president to accept "one China" |
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May 22, 2000
BEIJING, MAY 21 (AP) - China warned Taiwan's new president Sunday that his calls for peace between the two rivals could never be realized without an acknowledgment that the island is part of Chinese erritory.
The official Xinhua News Agency attacked President Chen Shui-bian for not explicitly embracing Beijing's cherished "one China principle" in his inaugural speech Saturday, saying he adopted an "evasive, vague attitude" on the issue.
"Without accepting the one China principle, there is no foundation for talks and negotiations between the two sides. Not only will a relaxation and improvement of relations be difficult, it could lead to conflict and provoke a crisis," Xinhua said in a commentary.
Chen made only a passing reference to the issue in his speech, saying: "We believe that the leaders on both sides possess enough wisdom and creativity to jointly deal with the question of a future `one China.' "
But for all its bluster, Xinhua's commentary was less harshly worded than might have been expected. Beijing had for weeks been pressuring Chen to accept the "one China" principle, and even threatened war if he didn't.
In a hopeful sign, the commentary, and a lengthy Chinese government statement issued Saturday after Chen's speech, also appeared to open a door to talks under guidelines that might conceivably be acceptable to Taiwan.
The statements said China would be ready to authorize its negotiators to open talks if Taiwan adheres to a previous consensus on "one China" that opened the way for historic negotiations between the two sides in 1993.
Taiwan would also have to drop demands raised by Chen's predecessor, Lee Teng-hui, that the two sides treat each other as separate states, the statements said.
Chen's government has already said it will drop Lee's call, which infuriated Beijing, for state-to-state relations between the two sides.
China's measured response to Chen's inaugural address appeared designed in part to not anger the U.S. Congress, which this week takes up hotly contested legislation that would permanently grant China low-tariff trade rights in the United States.
China wants the bill to pass because it would end divisive, annual reviews of its trade status that served to focus attention on Beijing's human rights record and created uncertainty for Chinese firms exporting to U.S. markets.
Despite their separation amid civil war 51 years ago, Beijing says China and Taiwan are parts of one country that must be united.
It has threatened war if Taiwan cements the separation between the two sides by formally declaring independence. It has also threatened attack if Taiwan indefinitely rebuffs demands for unification talks.
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