The Chinese Foreign Ministry repeated its long-standing position yesterday that "there is only one China in the world and the mainland and Taiwan are both a part of China," as an initial response to Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) remarks on Saturday.
Chen said that there is "one country on either side" (of the Taiwan Strait) and urged the public to seriously consider referendum legislation to allow 23 million Taiwanese to decide Taiwan's future.
Chen's comments sparked an immediate media frenzy as both the domestic and international media sought to interpret the remark and wondered what China's reaction would be.
Yesterday, a spokesman from China's Foreign Affairs Ministry told AFP and Reuters reporters that China would never tolerate an independent Taiwan.
"The separation of China's sovereignty and territorial integrity will never be tolerated," the spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
He said that a more official response would be issued by the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council.
Some analysts have speculated that Beijing is buying time needed to integrate internal opinion before making a formal reaction.
The state-run China Central Television (CCTV) and XinHua News Agency both reported that Hong Kong's pro-Beijing newspapers carried stories warning that Chen's comments risked provoking the use of force by Beijing.
The pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po stated, "an official [in Beijing] reminded Chen Shui-bian and his partners not to play with fire again, not to wager the well-being of Taiwanese people in his gamble and not to lead Taiwan to a disaster."
Another Hong-Kong based pro-Beijing newspaper, Ta Kung Pao, carried a front page story with a spokesman from China's Taiwan Affairs Council reiterating that Taiwan was part of China, and any separatist move would not work.
Meanwhile, Taiwan officials said yesterday that the administration's cross-strait policy has not changed.
Vice Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council Chen Ming-tong (
"China has never abandoned the use of force against Taiwan. It also continues to hamper Taiwan's diplomacy despite President Chen's repeated gestures of goodwill over the past two years," he said.
Chen Ming-tong stressed that the two countries can't ever replace or represent each other.
"President Chen's remarks merely reiterated this fact. The essence of Taiwan's cross-strait policy remains unchanged," he said.
In the private sector, responses were mixed.
Stanley Hsu (
"The status quo is the best solution. It is not the time for Taiwan and China talk about split or unification. Strong economic power can help promote our nation, not political status," Hsu said.
He stressed that the most important thing for the time being is boosting the nation's economy, and questioned why Chen would choose to make such bold comments now.
Hsu added that the remarks could make it more difficult for Taiwanese businesspeople to work in China.
But the president of the association's Guangdong Province branch, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he is not worried about the president's rhetoric.
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