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| Friday, 9 January 2004 |
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China warns Taiwan against 'playing with fire' BEIJING, Thursday (Reuters) China has warned diplomatic rival Taiwan to stop "playing with fire" with moves towards independence ahead of presidential elections on the island in March. Wang Zaixi, vice-minister of the Chinese cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office, said the moves by Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian posed a great threat. "If Chen will recklessly take more risky pro-independence moves...it will trigger tension and even a clash in bilateral ties," Wang was quoted on Thursday as telling the China Daily newspaper. "Taiwan authorities should stop playing with fire." Tension has increased since Taiwan passed a controversial bill in November allowing referendums, which China sees as a move towards independence. Chen has vowed to push ahead with a "peace referendum" alongside the presidential elections, calling on China to dismantle hundreds of missiles aimed at the island. An opinion piece in the China Daily said Chen made a poor presidential candidate since he had broken promises he made when he took office in 2000. The newspaper, apparently referring to Chen's claim Taiwan and China were separate, cited an earlier Chen promise not to declare independence as a broken pledge. "What qualifications should a candidate have? Trustworthiness is certainly one - the ability to keep promises," said the article, by Luo Yan, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences. "How can one win public trust if he has the habit of breaking promises to the people?" Luo said the only way China would renounce the use of force to reclaim the island was if its leaders abandoned "Taiwan independence" and signed a peace agreement. "'Taiwan independence' is the horse that is driving the cart of 'military threat'," the article said. Chen was "leading the Taiwan people down the alley of war, chaos and misery". "He is an irresponsible and dangerous person," it said. "People with a sense of decency beware." |
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