Copyright 2000 Gannett Company, Inc.
USA TODAY
March 16, 2000, Thursday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 12A
LENGTH: 654 words
HEADLINE:
China threatens to 'shed blood' Independence vote in Taiwan risks invasion
BYLINE: Bill Nichols
DATELINE:
WASHINGTON
BODY:
WASHINGTON -- Chinese Premier Zhu
Rongji warned Taiwanese voters
Wednesday that if they elect a
pro-independence candidate as president,
they risk nothing less than an
invasion by China before Beijing
would allow Taiwan to become a separate
country.
In a Beijing news conference that continued the harsh
rhetoric
from China's leaders during the buildup to Saturday's presidential
vote in Taiwan, Zhu said China's armed forces would "shed blood"
if
necessary.
"We must make it crystal clear," he said. "No matter who
comes
to power in Taiwan, Taiwan will never be allowed to be independent."
Clinton administration officials believe an apparent surge by
Chen Shui-bian, the candidate of Taiwan's pro-independence opposition,
prompted Zhu's rhetorical blast.
Chen is one of three main
candidates -- the others are Vice President
Lien Chan and former Taiwan
governor James Soong -- in a close
race to be the successor to President Lee
Teng-hui, who is retiring.
Chen's Democratic Progressive Party,
however, supports formal
independence for Taiwan, although Chen has backed
away from saying
he would make a formal declaration of independence.
Taiwan's leading
stock index had its worst ever single-day point drop Monday
because
of fears that ties with China could worsen if Chen won.
China's mainland and the island of Taiwan have been ruled separately
since Chinese nationalists fled to Taiwan in 1949 to avoid the
communist
takeover in China.
Beijing, however, maintains that Taiwan remains a
part of one
China, and has become increasingly belligerent in warning Taipei
against any designs on declaring independence.
A white paper
issued by the Chinese government last month warned
for the first time that
Taiwan could be subject to military action
if Taipei delays "indefinitely"
the reunification of Beijing
and Taiwan.
The United States has
adhered to a policy for more than 20 years
that recognizes one China ruled
by Beijing, but which also calls
for the peaceful reunification of mainland
China and Taiwan. The
U.S. sells arms to Taiwan and has said it would defend
the island
if attacked.
"We reject the use of force as a means
to resolve the Taiwan
question," said National Security Council spokesman
Mike Hammer
in response to Zhu's remarks.
China's increasingly
combative rhetoric toward Taiwan, however,
has become a hot U.S. political
issue.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress have called for
stronger
U.S. support for Taiwan. The Taiwan Security Enhancement Act,
which would deepen U.S. military commitments to Taipei, passed
easily in
the House last month and awaits action in the Senate.
China's policy
toward Taiwan also has become a major obstacle
for passage of
permanent normal trade relations for China this
year.
President Clinton wants Congress to grant China permanent normal
access to U.S. markets in exchange for a deal that would swap
U.S.
support for China's entry into the World Trade Organization
for China's
promise to significantly open its markets to U.S.
goods.
Zhu's
address, with its nationalistic fervor, raised eyebrows
among some China
watchers because he has long been seen as a pragmatic
leader of the reform
faction within the Chinese leadership.
Gerrit Gong, director of the
Asia program at Washington's Center
for Strategic and International Studies,
said Zhu tucked a conciliatory
nugget into his news conference while
reflecting the consensus
view of the Chinese leadership. Switching from
Chinese to English,
Zhu, paraphrasing a speech Clinton gave last week on the
U.S.-China
trade deal, called for "a shift from threats to dialogue across
the Pacific Ocean."
Gong saw that phrase as a "slight olive
branch" Zhu was using
to signal to Washington that common interests --
specifically
on trade -- exist between the two nations outside their
differences
on Taiwan.
GRAPHIC: PHOTO, B/W,
Frederic J. Brown, AFP; PHOTO, Color, AFP; In Taipei: Supporters of Taiwan
presidential candidate James Soong were among more than 300,000 people who
attended a rally Wednesday. Zhu: 'Taiwan will never be allowed to be
independent.'
LOAD-DATE: March 16, 2000
