DATE=9/12/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=APEC / CHINA / L
NUMBER=2-253755
BYLINE=AMY BICKERS
DATELINE=AUCKLAND
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: At the Pacific Rim Economic summit now underway
in New Zealand, politics remains the major theme. At a
news conference held by the Chinese government Sunday,
a top official emphasized Beijing's objections to
Washington's limited-area missile defense program for
Asia and to Taipei's one-China policy. Amy Bickers
has more from Auckland.
Text: At a briefing for reporters at the APEC forum in
New Zealand, China's foreign ministry spokesman said -
- without a mutual commitment to the so-called one-
China policy -- China and Taiwan have no basis for
dialogue.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao (prono:
ju bong-jaw) says Taiwan President Lee Teng-Hui should
publicly withdraw his two states theory, under which
Mr. Lee demands Taiwan should be treated on an equal
footing by Beijing.
/// ZHU ACTUALITY ///
Our struggle against Lee Teng-Hui is a struggle for
the maintenance for the unity of the nation. And,
therefore, the Taiwan authorities should stop all the
activities aimed at splitting the motherland and cast
aside the two-states theory completely and thoroughly.
/// END ACTUALITY ///
Mr. Zhu echoed the concerns raised Saturday by Chinese
President Jiang Zemin, in a meeting with President
Clinton -- saying Taiwan's position has threatened to
destabilize the region.
The spokesman also addressed the issue of peace on the
Korean Peninsula -- another prominent topic at the
APEC forum. Sunday, President Clinton held a meeting
on the issue with both South Korean President Kim Dae
Jung and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. Mr. Zhu
says Beijing wants stability maintained between the
two Korea's and opposes the proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction.
But he also underscored China's objection to the
possible deployment of a U-S developed missile defense
system in the region -- saying that it would not be
conducive to peace and stability. He says Beijing is
especially opposed to the inclusion of Taiwan in such
a system.
The thorny issue of China's bid to join the World
Trade Organization was also raised. The Saturday
meeting between President's Clinton and Mr. Jiang
put Sino-American trade negotiations back on track,
after a four-month hiatus. The talks had been halted
after NATO's accidental bombing of China's Belgrade
embassy, in May. Mr. Zhu reiterated China's desire to
join the trade body, but says, firmly, it will only do
so under certain circumstances.
/// ZHU ACTUALITY ///
China is a very big country and there is a
developmental disparity between the regions in the
east and those in the central and western parts of
China and, therefore, you cannot apply the standards
that are in the eastern part of China to the whole of
China and, therefore, you cannot apply the demands for
a developed country to China, which is a developing
country. I think that is inappropriate and, in
addition, we do not have the capability to meet those
demands, either.
/// END ACTUALITY ///
Washington has long maintained that China should join
the W-T-O as a developed nation - which would have a
more-stringent sent of requirements than those placed
on developing nations. Although the two countries have
finally broken the ice, it appears that their
conflicting views on the conditions for China's W-T-O
membership remain as strong as ever. (Signed)
NEB / wd / wd
12-Sep-1999 01:21 AM LOC (12-Sep-1999 0521 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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