On the eve of President-elect Chen Shui-bian's (
An editorial carried on the front page of the ruling Communist Party's newspaper, the People's Daily, reiterated Beijing's willingness to hold talks "on an equal basis" but without recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign state.
"Taiwan is a part of China and Taiwan has only one future -- reunification with the mainland," said the People's Daily editorial, also carried by other newspapers. "This is a very clear and non-negotiable issue," it said.
"Under the `one China' principle, the two sides can undoubtedly find the proper means for conducting talks as equals," it said.
Tensions have mounted between the two sides ahead of Chen's inauguration today. Before his election, Beijing issued repeated warnings to Taiwan not to elect the opposition candidate.
While there have been some claims that the inauguration speech would include mention of the `one China' principle, individuals involved in the drafting of the speech have denied the phrase would be mentioned.
Vice President-elect Annette Lu (
"The question is not whether there is one China. The question is: what is the relationship between Taiwan and China?" Lu said.
"For a long time we have felt that Beijing's leaders have been unfriendly toward the Taiwanese people, and also often greatly insulted us. This is very distressing," Lu said.
Shortly after the March 18 election, a comment by Lu that the two sides of the Strait were like distant neighbors drew intense criticism from Beijing, labeling her as "the scum of the nation."
While Chinese reports yesterday urged other foreign governments to stay away from the inauguration, they also renewed their verbal attacks against Lu, accusing her in a commentary by the state-run Xinhua News Agency of trying to provoke trouble by allegedly asserting that Taiwan was independent and sovereign.
"This is a blatant provocation against the `one-China' principle and the entire Chinese people," it said, describing Lu's alleged comments as "extremely dangerous."
In her interview with CNN, Lu said that while Taiwan shares cultural links with China, the reality of the political situation across the Strait precludes application of the `one China' principle.
"If [we] must speak in political terms, if `one China' equals the People's Republic, we do not have PRC passports, we don't pay taxes to the Beijing authorities, and we don't have to serve in their military. So in reality, we have two constitutions, two governments, and two countries," Lu said."When Beijing hears this, they don't like it, but what I said is the truth."
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