DATE=8/17/1999 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=CHINA - TAIWAN (L ONLY) NUMBER=2-252854 BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON DATELINE=BEIJING CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: China continues to denounce Taiwan and threaten military action against it more than a month after the island insisted upon being treated as an equal state in its dealings with the mainland. But VOA correspondent Roger Wilkison reports that, apart from threats, scare tactics and inflammatory rhetoric, Beijing has apparently not yet made up its mind how to deal with what it considers Taiwan's slap in the face. TEXT: Battle tanks, self-propelled artillery pieces and missiles on flatbed trucks rumbled through the streets of the Chinese capital Monday night in a rehearsal for the giant military parade that is to mark Communist China's 50th anniversary October 1st. But the display of military might also had another purpose: it projected an image of strength and resolve in the midst of what Beijing sees as a threat from Taiwan to move toward independence. Chinese news media -all of them controlled by the government-have been unceasing in their vituperation against what they have called the separatist intentions of Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui. Not only have they continued to insinuate that China will use force against Taiwan,they are now reporting on military exercises and troop preparations in areas facing the island. On Tuesday, for example, the People's Daily - flagship of the Communist Party - reported that Chinese marines are conducting exercises in the South China Sea. The newspaper said the troops would not sit by and watch the separation of even an inch of Chinese territory. China regards Taiwan as a wayward province that must be reunified with the mainland. The Liberation Army Daily reported that troops in the city of Xiamen - which faces the Taiwanese outpost of Jinmen (Quemoy)-vowed to smash what the newspaper calls "Lee Teng-hui's wicked separatist plot". Despite the rhetoric, Western and Asian diplomats in Beijing wonder just what China will do to hit back at the Taiwanese leader. They say a real debate is going on within the government, with hard-liners demanding some kind of military action and moderates advising a more cautious approach. The options advocated by hard-liners include capturing small outlying islands and firing missiles to disrupt shipping in the Taiwan straits. The moderates would rather put a freeze on contacts with Taiwan until after the island's presidential elections in March. Most diplomats agree that what action China may take depends in large part on the signals it gets from the United States. Washington has said any attack on Taiwan would be a matter of grave concern, but it has remained purposefully ambiguous about what it would do. Last week, the state-owned China Business Times acknowledged that the crucial issue is whether the United States would come to Taiwan's rescue. That, it said, is a very big question mark. (signed) NEB/RW/FC/PLM 17-Aug-1999 05:56 AM EDT (17-Aug-1999 0956 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
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