03-04-2008, 02:08 PM
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China Warns Taiwan Against Independence and UN Referendum
Quote:
Mar 4, 1:08 PM EST
China Warns Taiwan Against Independence
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
Associated Press Writer
BEIJING (AP) -- China's president condemned Taiwanese moves toward independence Tuesday in unusually strong remarks delivered the same day that Beijing announced a nearly 18 percent boost in military spending.
President Hu Jintao Hu's comments came just weeks before Taiwan's presidential election, breaking with the recent practice of top Chinese leaders to soft-pedal nationalist sentiment to avoid alienating Taiwanese voters.
The decision to speak out suggest Beijing's patience is being sorely tested by Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's attempts to strengthen the island's de-facto independence.
"Taiwan independence activities constitute the biggest menace to national sovereignty and territorial integrity ... and the biggest threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," Hu said in a lengthy address to members of a government advisory body, parts of which were shown on state television's main evening news report.
"Such activities will get nowhere and are doomed to fail," Hu said.
Beijing is particularly anxious about a referendum accompanying Taiwan's March 22 presidential election. It will ask voters if they favor joining the United Nations under the name Taiwan, which China views as a step toward legal independence. Beijing has said it would squelch any such attempt with military force.
"If the Chen Shui-bian authorities should stubbornly continue down the path, they will surely pay a dear price," Jiang Enzhu, the spokesman for the ceremonial legislature, the National People's Congress, told reporters at an earlier news conference.
Jiang did not elaborate, other than saying the situation across the Taiwan Strait was "grim and complex."
The 17.6 percent increase in military spending this year to $58.76 billion is the 18th double-digit percentage rise in 19 years - an investment that has ramped up the ability of the People's Liberation Army to project power and drawn calls from the U.S. and Japan for an explanation of the buildup.
Among the PLA's primary missions is enforcing China's claim to Taiwan, a democratically ruled island that split with Beijing in a civil war a half-century ago.
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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT
We need to reaffrim our commitment to defend Taiwan. |