DATE=7/14/99
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-43874
TITLE=CHINA - TAIWAN
BYLINE=STEPHANIE MANN
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: SOME OBSERVERS SAY THE RECENT STATEMENT BY TAIWAN'S
PRESIDENT REJECTING THE ONE CHINA-POLICY MAY HAVE BEEN PROMPTED
BY LOCAL POLITICS. BUT THEY SAY IT IS BOUND TO HAVE
REPERCUSSIONS FOR TAIWAN'S RELATIONS WITH MAINLAND CHINA AND WITH
THE UNITED STATES. V-O-A'S STEPHANIE MANN REPORTS.
TEXT: WHEN TAIWAN PRESIDENT LEE TENG-HUI DECLARED IN A GERMAN
RADIO INTERVIEW THAT CHINA SHOULD TREAT THE ISLAND AS A SEPARATE
STATE, HIS WORDS PROMPTED AN ANGRY REACTION FROM BEIJING.
CHINESE OFFICIAL MEDIA AND GOVERNMENT SPOKESMEN HAVE BLASTED
TAIWAN, ACCUSING THE ISLAND OF TRYING TO BREAK CHINA APART.
DEFENSE MINISTER CHI HAOTIAN SAYS CHINA WILL SMASH ANY ATTEMPT BY
TAIWAN TO DECLARE INDEPENDENCE.
FOR THE PAST 50 YEARS, THE COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT IN BEIJING AND
THE NATIONALIST GOVERNMENT IN TAIPEI HAVE EACH CLAIMED TO BE THE
LEGITIMATE RULER OF ALL CHINA. // OPT // CHINA CONSIDERS TAIWAN
A RENEGADE PROVINCE AND WANTS TO REUNITE IT WITH THE MAINLAND.
LEE TENG-HUI'S NATIONALIST PARTY, WHICH FLED TO TAIWAN WHEN THE
COMMUNISTS CAME TO POWER IN 1949, HAS SAID IT WANTS THE TWO SIDES
TO REUNITE WHEN CHINA IS DEMOCRATIC. // END OPT //
PRESIDENT LEE SAYS HIS GOVERNMENT IS STILL COMMITTED TO
REUNIFICATION, DESPITE ABANDONING THE ONE-CHINA POLICY.
NEVERTHELESS, SOME OBSERVERS IN THE UNITED STATES SAY PRESIDENT
LEE'S DECLARATION GAVE THE IMPRESSION OF TAKING A STEP TOWARD
INDEPENDENCE. THOMAS ROBINSON, PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN ASIAN
RESEARCH ENTERPRISES, A RESEARCH FIRM IN THE WASHINGTON AREA,
SAYS LEE TENG-HUI, WHO WILL STEP DOWN FROM THE PRESIDENCY NEXT
YEAR, IS TRYING TO ESTABLISH HIS LEGACY BY MOVING TAIWAN IN THE
DIRECTION OF INDEPENDENCE.
ANOTHER CHINA SCHOLAR, JUNE TEUFEL DREYER, SAYS PRESIDENT LEE
MERELY EXPRESSED WHAT HAS BEEN A REALITY FOR A LONG TIME.
// DREYER ACT ONE //
THAT IS, IN EFFECT, YOU DO HAVE TWO INDEPENDENT
SOVEREIGN STATES ACROSS THE STRAITS. AND WHAT BEIJING
IS OBJECTING TO IS THE FACT THAT LEE TENG-HUI SAID IT
OUT LOUD.
// END ACT //
MS. DREYER, A POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
MIAMI, SAYS TAIWAN HAS BEEN WORRIED THAT BEIJING HAS BEEN
SQUEEZING IT -- OR DEPRIVING IT OF INTERNATIONAL STATURE. SO SHE
SAYS TAIWAN'S OFFICIALS WANT TO BREAK OUT OF THAT SITUATION BY
ANY MEANS SHORT OF DECLARING ACTUAL INDEPENDENCE.
THOMAS ROBINSON AGREES TAIWAN CAN NOT AFFORD TO CALL ITSELF
INDEPENDENT, EVEN IF THAT IS THE WAY THINGS REALLY ARE.
// ROBINSON ACT ONE //
REALITY HAS BEEN THAT FOR A LONG TIME ... TAIWAN HAS
BEEN AN INDEPENDENT ENTITY, OR AN INDEPENDENT-LIKE
ENTITY, OR AN AUTONOMOUS ENTITY. BUT THE IDEA BETWEEN
CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES, WITH WHICH TAIWAN HAS GONE
ALONG, IS THAT YOU DON'T CALL INDEPENDENCE
"INDEPENDENCE." IF YOU CALL INDEPENDENCE
"INDEPENDENCE," WHY THEN CHINA IS GOING TO REACT IN A
MORE OR LESS DIRECT MANNER, AND THAT COULD INVOLVE
MILITARY ACTION. AND THAT'S WHAT EVERYONE IS TRYING TO
AVOID.
// END ACT //
PRESIDENT LEE'S STATEMENT PROMPTED CHINA TO AGAIN THREATEN TO USE
FORCE IF TAIWAN FORMALLY DECLARES INDEPENDENCE. AND ASIA POLICY
ANALYST, THOMAS HENRIKSON, WHO IS WITH THE HOOVER INSTITUTE IN
CALIFORNIA, SAYS THE POSSIBILITY OF MILITARY ACTION SHOULD NOT BE
TAKEN LIGHTLY.
// HENRIKSON ACT //
I THINK IT'S A REAL POSSIBILITY. IT'S VERY HARD TO
CONTEMPLATE THAT BEIJING CAN AFFORD TO LET THIS GO BY
THE BOARDS. THAT IS TO SAY, THIS HAS BEEN SUCH A
DRAMATIC CHANGE AND BEEN SUCH A MAIN PART OF THEIR
POLICY (THAT) TO NOT MAKE ANY SORT OF DRAMATIC
RESPONSE WOULD BE REALLY HIGHLY UNUSUAL.
// END ACT //
TAIWANESE OFFICIALS HAVE SAID THEIR CALL FOR EQUAL STATUS IS
INTENDED TO PROMPT CHINA TO HAVE MORE CONSTRUCTIVE TALKS ON
REUNIFICATION. BUT CHINA SAYS TAIWAN'S NEW POSITION HAS WIPED
OUT THE FOUNDATION FOR THE CROSS STRAITS TALKS. AND IT REMAINS
TO BE SEEN WHETHER BEIJING WILL CANCEL OR POSTPONE A PLANNED
VISIT TO TAIPEI LATER THIS YEAR BY WANG DAOHAN, THE TOP CHINESE
NEGOTIATOR WITH TAIWAN.
THOMAS ROBINSON, OF AMERICAN ASIAN RESEARCH ENTERPRISES, SAYS
TAIWAN'S POLICY SHIFT HAS PUT THE UNITED STATES IN AWKWARD
POSITION. HE SAYS THE ONE-CHINA POLICY WAS FORMALIZED IN THE
1982 SHANGHAI COMMUNIQUE BETWEEN BEIJING AND WASHINGTON.
TAIWAN'S ABANDONMENT OF THAT POLICY, MR. ROBINSON SAYS, MEANS
TAIWAN IS TRYING TO FORCE WASHINGTON TO ALTER ITS POLICY TOWARD
CHINA.
// ROBINSON ACT TWO //
IT, IN SOME SENSE, PUTS THE UNITED STATES ON BEIJING'S
SIDE. THAT IS, WE AND CHINA ARE BOTH NOW SAYING THAT A
ONE-CHINA POLICY IS THE POLICY THAT WE'LL STICK TO. ...
SO, IT PUTS THE UNITED STATES IN A POSITION OF SIDING
WITH CHINA AGAINST TAIWAN, AND THAT'S NOT WHERE WE WANT
TO BE.
// END ACT //
A STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN HAS REITERATED (ON TUESDAY) THE U-S
POSITION THAT THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT SUPPORT TAIWAN
INDEPENDENCE, ADDING THAT FACE TO FACE MEETINGS ARE THE BEST WAY
FOR CHINESE PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STRAIT TO RESOLVE THEIR
DISAGREEMENTS.
// REST OPTIONAL //
THOMAS ROBINSON SAYS PRESIDENT LEE'S ANNOUNCEMENT WAS PARTLY
MOTIVATED BY LOCAL TAIWANESE POLITICS IN THE RUN-UP TO ELECTIONS
NEXT MARCH. HE SAYS MR. LEE MAY BE HOPING HIS NATIONALIST PARTY
CAN WIN SUPPORT AWAY FROM THE OPPOSITION DEMOCRATIC PROGRESSIVE
PARTY, OR D-P-P.
THE CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE D-P-P PARTY OFFICE IN WASHINGTON, PAI
PEI-HUA, SAYS PRESIDENT LEE'S CALL FOR TAIWAN AND CHINA TO HAVE
EQUAL STATUS IS SOMETHING HER PARTY HAS ADVOCATED FOR A LONG
TIME.
// PAI ACT //
PRESIDENT LEE TENG-HUI'S IDEA OF TWO-STATE THEORY, AS WE
CALL IT IN TAIWAN, IS MOVING TOWARD THE D-P-P POLICY,
ESPECIALLY OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CHEN SHUI-BIAN
(WHO) VISITED HERE IN APRIL. HE ALREADY CLAIMED THAT,
QUOTE, TAIWAN AND THE P-R-C ARE TWO INDEPENDENT,
SEPARATE AND MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE ETHNIC CHINESE STATES,
AND CROSS STRAIT RELATIONS SHOULD BE SPECIAL STATE TO
STATE RELATIONS, END OF QUOTE.
// END ACT //
MS. PAI SAYS SHE IS GLAD TO SEE DOMESTIC TAIWAN POLITICS MOVING
TOWARD CONSENSUS ON THIS ISSUE. AND SHE DOES NOT BELIEVE CHINA
WILL CANCEL WANG DAOHAN'S PLANNED VISIT TO TAIPEI. (SIGNED)
NEB/SMN/KL
14-Jul-99 2:02 PM EDT (1802 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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