China vows to crush Taiwan independence try
Dec 30, 2004
CALLING relations with Taiwan “grimâ€, the communist leadership in Beijing on Monday vowed to crush by military force any attempt for independence by Taiwan.
CALLING relations with Taiwan “grimâ€, the communist leadership in Beijing on Monday vowed to crush by military force any attempt for independence by Taiwan.
The first national defence paper issued since the new president and party chief Hu Jintao took over the military leadership in September said: “It is the sacred responsibility of the Chinese armed forces to stop the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces from splitting the country.â€
The White Paper continued: “Should the Taiwan authorities go so far as to make a reckless attempt that constitutes a major incident of ‘Taiwan independence’, the Chinese people and armed forces will resolutely and thoroughly crush it at any cost.â€
Taiwan, however, criticised China for trying to use the so-called independence moves of the island to cover up the fact of its military expansion in the region. By claiming to curb independence moves of Taiwan, “China has in recent years increased its military build-up in the region and has deployed 600 missiles to aim at Taiwan,†said Joseph Wu, chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Taiwan’s top China policy planning body.
“This has not only threatened the stability in the Taiwan Strait, but has also affected the peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region,†he added.
He said the White Paper which puts crushing of independence at its core would in no way enhance peace in the region, but would also cause bigger resentment from the Taiwanese, pushing them further away from the mainland.
The paper accused the democratically elected government in Taipei under President Chen Shui-bian of having “recklessly challenged the status quo that both sides of the Straits belong to one and the same China, and markedly escalated the Taiwan independence activities designed to split Chinaâ€.
From that perspective the White Paper called the referendum for constitutional reform planned by Chen Shui-bian “separatist
activities aimed at
Taiwan independenceâ€.
“They have not given up their attempt at ‘Taiwan independence’ through the formulation of a so-called ‘new constitution for Taiwan’,†it said.
The paper criticised the United States for selling weapons to Taiwan, and sending a “wrong signal†to the Taiwan authorities.
The U.S. action does not serve a stable situation across the Taiwan Straits, the paper said. The White Paper at the same time stresses that the Chinese government continues to adhere to the principles of “peaceful reunification†and “one country, two systems†to solve the question of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a runaway province.
Meanwhile, China is to adopt the anti-secession law aimed at pressuring and curbing Taiwan independence forces at its yearly legislative meeting starting March 5 in Beijing, China’s legislative leader said Wednesday.
“Now the conditions for making the law are ripeâ€, chairman Wu Bangguo said at the closing meeting of the 13th session of the 10th National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.
The draft was submitted for adoption at the full session of the NPC in March, which usually lasts around 10 days.
However, Taiwan authorities had accelerated the secessionist activities for independence, “especially through the so-called constitutional reformâ€, state media quoted the parliament chief as saying.
Since 1949, China has regarded Taiwan as a runaway province and seeks reunification through the “one country, two systems†formula adopted for the former british colony Hong Kong, but the majority of Taiwanese in the democratic island republic reject the idea.
Meanwhile, Claire Bigg in Moscow reports that Russia and China will carry out their first joint military manoeuvres in the second half of 2005, Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Ivanov, said.
“For the first time in history, we have decided to hold large-scale military exercises with China,†he said.
Mr Ivanov said the joint
exercises would involve Russia’s strategic bombers and submarines and troop manoeuvres in China.
The joint military exercises sparked fears that Russia and China could be paving the way for a military alliance. Those fears have been exacerbated by souring relations between the US and Russia over elections in Ukraine.
Russia and China, once traditional foes who fought a brief border war, have been working on a strategic alliance since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and have repeatedly expressed their desire for a multi-polar world free of US dominance.
“They are rather a sign of growing trust between both countries, and of Russia’s desire to show China that it is not an opponent.â€
Guardian Newspapers
and dpa
The first national defence paper issued since the new president and party chief Hu Jintao took over the military leadership in September said: “It is the sacred responsibility of the Chinese armed forces to stop the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces from splitting the country.â€
The White Paper continued: “Should the Taiwan authorities go so far as to make a reckless attempt that constitutes a major incident of ‘Taiwan independence’, the Chinese people and armed forces will resolutely and thoroughly crush it at any cost.â€
Taiwan, however, criticised China for trying to use the so-called independence moves of the island to cover up the fact of its military expansion in the region. By claiming to curb independence moves of Taiwan, “China has in recent years increased its military build-up in the region and has deployed 600 missiles to aim at Taiwan,†said Joseph Wu, chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Taiwan’s top China policy planning body.
“This has not only threatened the stability in the Taiwan Strait, but has also affected the peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region,†he added.
He said the White Paper which puts crushing of independence at its core would in no way enhance peace in the region, but would also cause bigger resentment from the Taiwanese, pushing them further away from the mainland.
The paper accused the democratically elected government in Taipei under President Chen Shui-bian of having “recklessly challenged the status quo that both sides of the Straits belong to one and the same China, and markedly escalated the Taiwan independence activities designed to split Chinaâ€.
From that perspective the White Paper called the referendum for constitutional reform planned by Chen Shui-bian “separatist
activities aimed at
Taiwan independenceâ€.
“They have not given up their attempt at ‘Taiwan independence’ through the formulation of a so-called ‘new constitution for Taiwan’,†it said.
The paper criticised the United States for selling weapons to Taiwan, and sending a “wrong signal†to the Taiwan authorities.
The U.S. action does not serve a stable situation across the Taiwan Straits, the paper said. The White Paper at the same time stresses that the Chinese government continues to adhere to the principles of “peaceful reunification†and “one country, two systems†to solve the question of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a runaway province.
Meanwhile, China is to adopt the anti-secession law aimed at pressuring and curbing Taiwan independence forces at its yearly legislative meeting starting March 5 in Beijing, China’s legislative leader said Wednesday.
“Now the conditions for making the law are ripeâ€, chairman Wu Bangguo said at the closing meeting of the 13th session of the 10th National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.
The draft was submitted for adoption at the full session of the NPC in March, which usually lasts around 10 days.
However, Taiwan authorities had accelerated the secessionist activities for independence, “especially through the so-called constitutional reformâ€, state media quoted the parliament chief as saying.
Since 1949, China has regarded Taiwan as a runaway province and seeks reunification through the “one country, two systems†formula adopted for the former british colony Hong Kong, but the majority of Taiwanese in the democratic island republic reject the idea.
Meanwhile, Claire Bigg in Moscow reports that Russia and China will carry out their first joint military manoeuvres in the second half of 2005, Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Ivanov, said.
“For the first time in history, we have decided to hold large-scale military exercises with China,†he said.
Mr Ivanov said the joint
exercises would involve Russia’s strategic bombers and submarines and troop manoeuvres in China.
The joint military exercises sparked fears that Russia and China could be paving the way for a military alliance. Those fears have been exacerbated by souring relations between the US and Russia over elections in Ukraine.
Russia and China, once traditional foes who fought a brief border war, have been working on a strategic alliance since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and have repeatedly expressed their desire for a multi-polar world free of US dominance.
“They are rather a sign of growing trust between both countries, and of Russia’s desire to show China that it is not an opponent.â€
Guardian Newspapers
and dpa