China Warns of ‘Disaster’ if Taiwan Redefines Status

China intensified its criticism of Taiwan on Tuesday as the Clinton administration anxiously sought to smooth the escalating flap over Taipei’s apparent attempt to redefine relations with its giant neighbor and longtime rival.

In the sharpest rhetoric aimed at Taiwan in three years, Beijing angrily warned that the island risks “monumental disaster” if Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui persists in saying that Taiwan is a separate state on a par with the mainland.

In Washington, the State Department appealed to both sides to refrain from further inflammatory language or from taking any action that could turn the current war of words into a more serious conflict.

James P. Rubin, the State Department spokesman, urged Taipei and Beijing to engage in “meaningful, substantive dialogue” to reduce the mounting tension.

“We believe that face-to-face meetings are the best way to clarify misunderstandings between Taipei and Beijing, and we do not think it is beneficial for either side to take steps which make holding this type of discussion or meeting more difficult to achieve,” Rubin said.

Rubin said officials from the American Institute of Taiwan, Washington’s unofficial diplomatic channel in Taipei, are scheduled to meet today with Taiwanese authorities to seek clarification of Lee’s comments, which he made on German radio over the weekend.

In the interview, Lee said that since constitutional reforms were carried out in Taiwan in 1991, “we have redefined cross-strait relations as nation-to-nation, or at least as special state-to-state relations.” He added, “Under such special state-to-state relations, there is no longer any need to declare Taiwan independent.”

His remarks, and those that followed by other Taiwanese officials, infuriated Beijing because the comments appeared to reverse a previous agreement that the mainland and Taiwan make up “one China,” as opposed to separate states.

Though vague, the “one China” formulation has allowed the two longtime rivals to claim common ground and to talk of eventual reunification. It also has allowed travel and more than $20 billion in annual trade to flourish across the Taiwan Strait.

The Clinton administration, which was caught off guard by Lee’s comments, gave Taiwan little visible support. In a briefing, Rubin said Washington has not changed its own “one China” policy.

Apparently seeking to defuse the controversy, the Taiwanese government’s Mainland Affairs Council said Tuesday that Lee’s description of Taiwan as a separate state merely reflects current reality and that his comments should not torpedo landmark talks with Beijing scheduled for October.

China demanded a clarification of Lee’s comments but did not cancel the talks.

The Beijing regime regards Taiwan as a rebel province that has been illegally held by the ruling Nationalist Party since Chiang Kai-shek fled to the island after the Communists won a civil war on the mainland in 1949. China has threatened to retake the island by force if Taipei ever declares formal independence.

Analysts continued to puzzle over why Lee chose to float his new definition of Taiwan’s political status at this time.

Some speculated that he wanted to make a dramatic statement before Taiwan’s presidential election next year, while others noted Taiwan’s attempts to hold on to the international recognition that has started to ebb as China becomes a bigger player on the world stage.

“The one-China principle is such an emotionally charged issue,” said James Mulvenon, a China analyst with the Rand Corp. in Washington. “This was not an accident. It was clearly determined to be a shot across the bow.”

Russ H. Munro, director of Asian studies at the Center for Security Studies in Washington, said Lee also might have U.S. politics in mind. “The U.S. presidential election figures into this,” he said. “Because Taiwan is a very intense issue for many people, support for Taiwan tends to go up in election years.”

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Chu reported from Beijing and Drogin from Washington.