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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