Beijing says it will not rule out future talks but the ball is in Taiwan's court

China yesterday said it did not rule out a resumption of dialogue with Taiwan in the near future, but that the ball is in Taiwan's court.

"The possibility of resuming dialogue is always there," Zhang Mingqing (張銘清), spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said at year-end press conference.

At issue is whether Taiwan's government is willing to accept the "one China" principle, Zhang said.

"We can talk at any time, but the key question is the Taiwan authorities do not recognize the `one China' principle," he said.

Semi-official talks between Beijing and Taipei have been frozen since 1999 when then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said that Taiwan's relationship with China should be seen as "special state-to-state" in nature, to Beijing's fury.

Zhang also slammed a reported Taiwanese plan to add the word "Taiwan" on the cover of the nation's passports from next year, saying it was a small step toward independence.

"This shows that the Taiwan authorities are moving step by step toward independence," he said.

He characterized as an "excuse" a Taiwanese argument that adding the word "Taiwan" to passports would help avoid confusion between travellers from Taiwan and China.

"We will maintain vigilance and observe what kind of steps [Taiwan's authorities] will take," Zhang said.

According to Taiwanese newspaper reports, passports, which currently refer in English to the nation as "the Republic of China," will have the word "Taiwan" added on the front.

The move is being undertaken in order to avoid the country being mistaken for China, a Taiwan-based Chinese-language evening newspaper recently quoted officials as saying.

At yesterday's press conference, Zhang also said Chinese authorities reserved the right to change or delete sensitive content in teaching materials used by Taiwan-managed schools across the Strait.

In particular, education officials are on guard against textbooks violating the "one China" principle.

"What we are really concerned about is whether the content is in accordance with the `one China' principle," Zhang said.

"I think making the necessary changes is entirely in accordance with our national education regulations," he said.

China still considers Taiwan to be a part of China and allowed Taiwan to become a member of the WTO only after China joined the trade body.