The verbal attack launched by Beijing following the announcement that the National Unification Council would cease to function was not as great as during the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, a senior Mainland Affairs Council official said yesterday.
"So far the response from China has been purely rhetorical and has not yet amounted to a military threat ... and the degree of China's rhetorical attack is not as strong as it was during the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis," the official said yesterday on condition of anonymity.
China launched a series of missile tests in the Taiwan Strait in the run-up to the 1996 presidential election, the first popular vote for president in Taiwan's history.
The official said that compared with Beijing's previous responses, the official reaction to the scrapping of the unification council had been much faster and came from much higher up.
Provocation
Chinese President Hu Jintao (
The council official said that China's response had been within the expectations of Taiwan's authorities, who foresee a scenario of stepped-up military exercises, as People's Liberation Army officials have allegedly proposed.
The official said, however, that it was "unlikely" that China would stage a military attack against Taiwan as a result of the decision on the council.
The official said that although the US said on Tuesday that the council was "frozen," as opposed to Taipei's use of the word "cease" to describe the mothballing of the council and guidelines, Washington had made it clear that it understood Taiwan had made a commitment not to change the cross-strait "status quo."
"After four weeks of communication, it's impossible that the US could not understand Taiwan's position," the official said.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Michel Lu (
"We took note of Washington's [different] description, but we also respect it. It's unimportant what kind of wording is used; the point is that there is no change to the status quo," Lu said.
Criticism `unlikely'
A Mainland Affairs Council official said yesterday that it was unlikely the US would criticize Taiwan over the issue during a planned meeting between US President George W. Bush and Hu next month, as the US has assured Taiwan that communication between the US and China would not exceed the tone of previous meetings.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (
The move was aimed at upholding Taiwan's freedom and democracy and the cross-strait "status quo," as well as at protecting the freedom of Taiwanese people to determine their future, Su said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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