Before talks with US officials recently, Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen (
When Taiwan abolished the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion (動員戡亂時期臨時條款), the government declared that it would not initiate a war against China. In contrast, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has repeatedly made military threats against Taiwan, saying such things as "there will inevitably be a war [in the Taiwan Strait] within five years," "it's either unification or war" and "smash and rebuild Taiwan."(
China and Taiwan are only one Taiwan Strait apart, while the US is much further away. Beijing therefore poses a greater threat to Taiwan than to the US. Although the US is a superpower, People's Liberation Army Deputy Chief of Staff Xiong Guangkai (熊光楷), actually threatened to launch nuclear missiles at Los Angeles a few years ago. The threat irritated the Americans. Qian's recent remarks about a preemptive strike against Taiwan simply reveal the CCP's true colors once again.
Beijing's nervous reaction and repeated denials and explanations following the US media's publication of Qian's words tell us that Beijing knows only to pick on the weak.
In view of the uproar over Qian's alleged remarks, the Chinese government immediately denied the allegation through "an authoritative figure close to Qian" the very next day, indicating the PRC leadership's concerns about incurring the wrath of the Bush administration and jeopardizing Beijing's plan to forge an alliance with the US. The "authoritative figure" clearly said that "even if the US approves the sales of four advanced AEGIS-equipped destroyers to Taiwan, Beijing will not invade Taiwan."
Meanwhile, upon inquiries about Qian's previous remarks and after Qian's talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, Zhang Qiyue (章啟月), explained that Qian had simply said that if the US government decided to sell the warships to Taiwan, the decision would be harmful to peace in the Taiwan Strait. Plus, although Qian repeatedly referred to the "August 17" communique (八一七公報) -- signed by former US president Ronald Reagan in 1982 -- Zhang particularly avoided mentioning the communique's restrictions on US arms sales to Taiwan.
As the PRC government appears to be trying its best to avoid using words and phrases such as "weapons" and "military force," is it trying to play the role of pacifist? Subsequently, Qian himself told CNN, upon being questioned about the possibility of a preemptive strike against Taiwan, that, "It really depends," showing that he has not yet given up his idea.
Qian is famous for his tough stances on foreign affairs and Taiwan policy. When accompanying Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) during visits to the US in the past, Qian has gone as far as repeatedly "correcting" Jiang's flattering remarks about the US. Facing changes in the US administration and the US' China and Taiwan policies, Qian is trying to bully Bush in the manner in which he used to bully Clinton. Qian's superiors seem a lot more practical than him, and to have a much better understanding of how to deal with the US government.
Paul Lin is a political commentator on Hong Kong affairs currently living in the US.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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