China Warns U.S. Over Taiwan Ties

A top Chinese official warned the United States on Tuesday against giving Taiwan greater political support but at the same time stressed that Beijing is willing to be more flexible toward the island’s independence-minded ruling party.

Just two weeks before President Bush is to make his first state visit to China, the senior official expressed deep concern that Washington might swap its historically ambiguous policy toward Taiwan for more overt backing of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian’s government, which Beijing distrusts.

In particular, the official cited remarks last month by the top U.S. envoy to Taipei, Richard Bush, who said the U.S. would “help Taiwan defend itself” if threatened. The envoy also appeared to criticize Beijing’s insistence on the “one China” principle, which holds that China and Taiwan belong to one nation. China maintains that talks with Taiwan must be based on that idea.

“He went too far,” the official said of the envoy, speaking to a small group of foreign reporters on condition of anonymity.

The Chinese official added that such comments would serve only to embolden Chen--whose party officially advocates Taiwanese independence--and would be “outrageous” and dangerous if they signaled an actual shift in U.S. policy.

The dust-up is certain to arise in talks between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and President Bush during the U.S. leader’s Feb. 21-22 visit. Controversies over Taiwan have vexed Sino-U.S. ties ever since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1979.

The senior Chinese official welcomed the president’s visit and credited him with trying to build trust with the Chinese people after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.

But he said that the Bush administration and U.S. lawmakers must pay more than “lip service” to longtime American assurances not to encourage Taiwanese independence. He also said Washington should stop selling advanced weapons to Taipei--sales that deepen Chinese fears of a military alliance between the U.S. and Taiwan.

Instead, the two sides of the narrow Taiwan Strait must be allowed to work out their differences on their own, as a purely “domestic” affair, the official said.

“If you look at Taiwan as the 51st state, in the long run it will be a problem for the United States,” he warned. “Please don’t forget that Taiwan is a cross-strait issue.”

In a wide-ranging, two-hour interview, the official clearly sought to underscore Beijing’s new, more relaxed attitude toward Taiwan’s ruling party, a departure from the vitriol flung at Chen when he won the presidency two years ago.

Then, the Communist regime repeatedly threatened to use force to reunify Taiwan with the mainland. The official said such declarations were necessary to scare Chen’s Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, away from its pro-independence stance. But he acknowledged that “it’s not the best way” to conduct cross-strait relations--the first such public pronouncement from a high-ranking Chinese official.

Two weeks ago, Vice Premier Qian Qichen also surprised China-watchers by saying that the mainland is willing to meet with moderate members of the DPP, whom Qian differentiated from “die-hard” independence advocates.

The senior Chinese official interviewed Tuesday described Beijing’s thaw as a result of a shift by the DPP toward the center since Chen took office. The official denied that it sprang from alarm over the DPP’s surprisingly large gains in legislative elections in December. “The reversal is very much . . . because they moved” away from declaring independence, he said.

Beijing’s softer tone also reflects the mainland’s increasing confidence that its economic importance to Taiwan has strengthened its hand while tying those of Taiwan’s leaders. Taiwanese investment across the strait has soared in recent years as many island companies have moved operations to the mainland to take advantage of cheap and plentiful labor.

The mainland can afford to be patient for Taiwan to reconcile, the official said. In the meantime, Beijing has dropped references to the island as “a province” of China. It also has broadened its definition of the “one China” principle and does not emphasize which side is superior.

But Beijing remains adamant that Taiwan must accept the “one China” principle as a starting point for any talks.

Taipei is cool toward the idea, but the DPP cautiously welcomed the offer to meet with mainland officials. No one, however, seems to know how such a meeting would work.