Tue, May 25, 2004 page3

• Government fires back at China over Chen speech

  • By Ko Shu-ling / STAFF REPORTER
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  The Presidential Office and Cabinet yesterday denounced China's criticism of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) inauguration speech, saying Beijing's admonishments were "divorced from reality" and lacked "creativity" and "sincerity."

  Refusing to elaborate more on China's criticism, Presidential Office Spokesman James Huang (黃志芳) said only that it was beyond question that Chen's speech, which was well received by the international community, including the US, extended a tremendous amount of goodwill and sincerity.

  "China's denunciation is farfetched and clearly divorced from reality," he said.

  In his speech last Thursday, Chen ruled out any immediate steps toward formal independence and called for improved ties with Beijing in a bid to placate China and key ally the US.

  The US welcomed Chen's speech as "responsible and constructive" for avoiding an immediate showdown with China and lauded it as "creating an opportunity for the two rivals to resume dialogue."

  China, in its first official reaction yesterday, criticized the the speech as "completely about Taiwan's status as an independent country."

  In addition to feeling "strongly sorry" about China's criticism, Cabinet Spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said that it was not only "unconstructive" but also "lacked creativity and sincerity in improving cross-strait relations."

  "Beijing's endless military intimidation of Taiwan is like moving stones to smash its own feet instead of clearing away the blocking stones across the Taiwan Strait," he said. "It not only seriously offends Taiwanese people's feelings but also sabotages the improvement of cross-strait relations and stability in the Asia-Pacific region."

  Chen Chi-mai also called on China to respect the wishes of Taiwanese and Chinese people to pursue peace and prosperity and resume talks under the cross-strait peace and stability interaction framework proposed by President Chen.

  Referring to President Chen as a "faithless man," Zhang Mingqing (張銘清), spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office, yesterday called his inauguration speech a "cloaked address on independence" and said Beijing would pay any price to stop him on his road to statehood.

  "We do not care what he says. The key is what he does and which road he would choose," he said. "He is riding near the edge of the cliff, and there is no sign that he is going to rein in his horse."

  After President Chen's first inauguration in 2000, Beijing said it would "listen to his words" and "watch his actions."

  Four years on, China made a pre-emptive declaration ahead of the May 20 inauguration, threatening to crush any moves toward independence, although it also offered to reward Taiwan if it towed the Beijing line.

  Although Zhang yesterday said that China noticed Chen did not give a timetable for constitutional revisions, following great pressure from all sides, Chen did use some vague phrases about territory and sovereignty in his speech, which carries a foreshadowing of Taiwan independence later.

  Zhang also said that Beijing would protect its territorial unity above all else, including the Olympic Games, which it hosts in 2008.

  "If Chen Shui-bian dares to challenge the people of the world ... we will safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity at any cost," he said when asked if China would be willing to risk the Olympics over Taiwan.
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