Cross-straits tensions rise during Chinese premier's visit
U.S. President George W. Bush has called on Taiwan not to take any unilateral steps toward independence, during a meeting with the visitingChinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Washington, RFA reports.
"We oppose any unilateral decision by either China or Taiwan to change thestatus quo," Bush said, sitting next to Wen in the Oval Office. "And the comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan indicate that he may be willing to make decisions unilaterally to change the status quo, which we oppose."
Earlier, U.S. officials said that Taiwan seemed to be "pushing the envelope pretty vigorously" with its plans for a March 20 island-wide referendum on cross-straits relations.
Cross-straits tensions traditionally run high during major elections on thedemocratic island, and Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian announced thereferendum as his 2004 presidential election campaign moved into full swing.The presidential ballot will also be held in March 2004.
Taiwan responded to earlier U.S. criticism by saying that the referendumonly demands that China stop pointing missiles at the island. Taiwanofficials and the ruling party argue that the poll�Taiwan's first islandwidereferendum�is vital to expanding the young democracy and protesting againstChina's missile threat.
"We need to widen our democracy, and we need U.S. support for this," Foreign Minister Eugene Chien said Tuesday.
Wen also repeated an earlier warning against any move that would seek toformalize the island's de facto independence. "The Chinese government respects the desire of people in Taiwan fordemocracy," Wen said. "But we must point out that the attempts of Taiwanauthorities, headed by Chen Shui-bian, are only using democracy as an excuseand [an] attempt to resort to [a] defensive referendum to split Taiwan away from China."
"Such separatist activities are what the Chinese side can absolutely notaccept and tolerate," Wen said.
Beijing has repeatedly warned it will use military force against Taiwan,which it sees as a rebel province, if it declares independence.
However, Washington also warned China Monday that U.S. opposition to anyindependence moves by Taiwan should not be seen as a green light for Beijingto launch military action against the island.
"We also don't want to see the mainland moving towards coercion, whileequally we don't want to see Taiwan moving towards independence," a U.S.official said Monday.
The current verbal standoff was triggered last month, when Taiwan'sparliament debated and then passed a law allowing referendums.
A senior member of Bush's National Security Council, Jim Moriarty, secretlytraveled to Taiwan in recent weeks to underscore U.S. opposition to thereferendum, U.S. official sources said.
Taiwan has been governed separately from the mainland since 1949, when theChinese Nationalists (KMT) fled there after losing a civil war to thecommunists.#####