Taipei should not expect the mainland to remain restrained if
the island continues its radical push for independence, a senior
government official has warned.
Wang Zaixi, vice minister of the Taiwan Affair Office of the
State Council, said Beijing has so far been exercising restraint
towards the Taiwan authorities in a bid to guarantee stability in
cross-Straits ties.
"But we do have our principle and bottom line for keeping
restrained," he told a seminar in Sydney over the weekend.
That is the Chinese government and its people will never allow
pro-independence forces to split Taiwan from China.
"We stand firm on this issue of significant principle and will
never make any compromise or give way," Wang stressed.
The official in charge of cross-Straits policy sent the clear
message at a Saturday symposium organized by the Australian
Association for the Promotion of Peaceful National
Reunification.
It was apparently meant to highlighting the grave threat posed
by Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's stepped-up efforts at
independence to peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and the
Asia-Pacific region at large.
Bent on provocative actions to win votes in the "presidential"
election on March 20, Chen has been taking bold steps to move
Taiwan closer towards independence under the guise of promoting
"democracy."
He once pledged to bring a new "constitution" to the island on
December 10, 2006 and put it into force on May 20, 2008.
The Taiwan leader also proposed to hold a "defensive referendum"
on the election day with a view to making cross-Straits relations
increasingly tense.
Wang said the introduction of Chen's pro-independence timetable
has suggested that separatist forces on the island are attempting
to achieve formal Taiwan independence before 2008 in a planned and
premeditated way.
The official noted the mainland will make unremitting efforts to
peacefully settle the Taiwan question as long as there is any hope
of this.
Wang, however, did reiterate Beijing's long-standing stance that
it will pay any price to safeguard the unity of the motherland.
While promoting the peaceful reunification of China, Beijing
does not undertake to renounce the use of force in case of Taiwan
declaring independence.
(China Daily January 5, 2004)