China Denies Meddling in Taiwan’s Upcoming Vote

The Chinese government said Wednesday that it was not interfering in Taiwan’s presidential campaign, amid suggestions by officials on the island that Beijing had been playing favorites among the candidates.

“We are not interested in who is elected, and we are not going to involve ourselves in the Taiwanese elections,” said Zhang Mingqing, a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office.

China’s primary concern is the stance Taiwanese leaders take toward cross-strait relations and possible reunification, Zhang said at a news conference. Beijing views the island as a breakaway province.

The Chinese official also questioned the sincerity of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian’s recently released “framework for peace and stability,” saying that even as Chen outlined a plan to ease tension, he was calling for a referendum that threatened to provoke confrontation.

“We think Chen Shui-bian’s words are deceitful,” he said.

In the referendum, scheduled for March 20, the same day as the presidential election, Chen is asking voters whether Taiwan should strengthen its defenses against Chinese missiles capable of hitting the island and whether the government should open talks with Beijing on the peace framework. China strongly opposes the referendum, which it sees as a veiled step toward independence.

Zhang’s assertion that China was not getting involved in the upcoming election drew a sharp response from Taipei, the Taiwanese capital.

“It’s a lie, that’s the simplest thing to say,” said Joseph Wu, deputy secretary to Chen. “It’s clear they’re trying to meddle. They’ve done it in 1996, in 2000, and they’re doing it this time.”

China conducted missile tests near Taiwan just before the island’s 1996 election. And in 2000, Zhu Rongji, China’s then-premier, openly criticized Chen’s candidacy, a move some believed ultimately helped Chen win.

This year, Beijing is making no secret of its preference for opposition candidate Lien Chan, Wu said, as seen through its statements and recent efforts to marshal U.S. pressure against Taiwan.

The cross-strait battle of words Wednesday came after two days of high-level military talks in Beijing between U.S. and Chinese officials, with Taiwan a focal point.

East Asia has two potential hot spots -- Taiwan and North Korea -- at a time when U.S. military forces are stretched thin in Iraq and Afghanistan. The visit by U.S. officials this week appears to be aimed in part at underscoring the message that Washington doesn’t want any cross-strait trouble.

“On the broader issue of Taiwan and the dangers of war, both sides made it clear that we have a strong interest in keeping tensions down and avoiding war,” said Douglas J. Feith, undersecretary of defense.

In particular, Feith said, the U.S. delegation expressed concern about the buildup in Chinese missiles threatening Taiwan. He said China did not indicate any conditions under which it might redeploy the missiles or any evidence of a change in Beijing’s stance.

In its discussions with Chinese Foreign Ministry and defense officials, the U.S. restated its commitment to maintaining the status quo between China and Taiwan and to other basic principles guiding cross-strait relations, Feith said, “so nobody operates on the basis of misimpressions.”

With the approach of Feb. 25 talks in China aimed at curtailing North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, Feith acknowledged that Beijing and Washington differed in their assessment of the North Korean threat.

Beijing is largely concerned with North Korea’s plutonium-reprocessing program and is less convinced that Pyongyang has the ability to enrich uranium. The U.S., in contrast, wants the North to verifiably and irreversibly dismantle all of its nuclear weapons programs.

“It wouldn’t make much sense to lock the window but keep the door open,” Feith told reporters.

However, Beijing and Washington agree that North Korea’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons threaten to destabilize the region, he said.

Navy Rear Adm. Bill Sullivan said there were no plans to redeploy American forces in the Pacific in advance of the Taiwan election or the North Korea talks. “We’re just maintaining our normal capability in the theater,” he said.