China + Taiwan ....( The People's Daily + CNA/Taiwan)

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US CONGRESSMAN CALLS FOR SUPPORT FOR TAIWAN

New York, Aug.  26 (CNA) Amid the recent tension between Taiwan and
mainland China, US Congressman Vito Fossella (R-NY) has issued a
statement calling for support for Taiwan from the administration of US
President Bill Clinton.  Fossella also condemned Beijing for rejecting
an application by Pope John Paul II to visit Hong Kong last month,
stressing that the United States should further help Taiwan maintain its
democracy and prosperity at a time when Beijing is still seeking to
deprive its people of basic religious freedom.  Clinton's spelling out
of his "three noes" policy toward Taiwan last year during a visit to
Shanghai has misled the Beijing leadership into believing that the
United States will agree to its attempt to control Taiwan, Fossella
pointed out.  Although Washington's "one China" policy acknowledges that
there is only one China, which includes Taiwan, that does not represent

formal recognition that Taiwan is part of communist China, he explained.
Pointing out that it was the sending of unclear messages to invaders
which caused the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War,
Fossella asserted that history should tell America that firmly
supporting Taiwan will help prevent greater conflict in the Taiwan
Strait in the future.  Fossella issued the statement after receiving
information from ethnic Chinese US citizens relating to Beijing's
repression of religious freedom in the mainland. 
(By K.C. Huang and Flor Wang)
ENDITEM/J
^Z
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RIFT BETWEEN TAIWAN AND CHINA WIDENING: REPORT

Washington, Aug.  26 (CNA) It is difficult to imagine Taiwan and
mainland China reunifying unless the latter changes, said an American
national newspaper Thursday.  USA Today reported from Taipei that, since
President Lee Teng-hui declared on July 9 that mainland China and Taiwan
should deal with each other as separate states and Beijing responded
with threats to invade if Taiwan declares formal independence, Taiwanese
nationalism has been rising.  The report said that the nationalism is
hardly surprising, as "50 years of separation have pushed mainland China
and Taiwan so far apart politically, socially and culturally that it is
difficult to imagine them ever being part of the same whole -- unless
China changes." It seems that more and more people in Taiwan regard
mainland China as a foreign land.  In one of the latest national opinion
polls in Taiwan, taken after President Lee's statement, 46 percent of
Republic of China nationals identified themselves as strictly Taiwanese,
up from 37 percent in April.  Those identifying themselves as both
Taiwanese and Chinese fell to 42 from 45 percent, and those identifying
themselves as only Chinese edged down to 11.4 from 12.7 percent.  The
American newspaper said, "Changing sentiments, unless curtailed, will
make it tougher for mainland China and Taiwan to peacefully reunite,"
which both have agreed to do in the future and which the United States
says is the preferred outcome.  The current tense situation across the
Taiwan Strait is far from what the people of Taiwan want, according to
the report.  Before President Lee's statement, the majority of Taiwan's
22 million people were content to promise reunification and go about
their lives, opinion polls showed.  But USA Today pointed out that
despite reunification dreams, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are
worlds apart: Taiwan is a vibrant democracy, while mainland China is a
one-party state ruled by the Communist Party; Taiwan is one of the
richest places in Asia, while mainland China is one of the poorest; the
streets of Taipei are crowded with cars and motorcycles, while bicycles
are the only mode of transportation many mainland Chinese can afford. 
"There  is  little  interest"  for  the  people of Taiwan in news
from mainland China, a news executive at a television station in Taipei
was quoted as saying.  Young people in Taiwan "don't think anything from
mainland China is worth copying," said a Taipei business executive and
mother of two teenagers. 
(By Nelson Chung)
ENDITEM
/c------------
US Arms Sale Incites Taiwan
"Independence" Elements

　　The US sale of sophisticated arms to Taiwan
has fired the arrogance of the "independence" elements in Taiwan and
become the biggest barrier to the cross-Straits dialog and peaceful
reunification, the biggest trouble maker for the China-US ties, and the
biggest instability factor of the region, says a commentary from the
People's Daily's reporter in Washington on August 25. 

　　The commentary notes that the trouble brought
about by the "two nations theory" to the US has caused the Americans to
raise the question: Is it wise for the US to unrestrainedly to sell arms
to Taiwan?  And is it in the interest of the US? 

　　In recent years, the US has stepped up its
arms sale to Taiwan, showing the following features: 1. The amount of
the sold arms has been increasingly on the rise; 2. The sold arms has
improved in quality; 3. And the transactions have been all the more
open, the commentary adds. 

　　It continues to say that the US arms have
given a loose rein to Lee Teng-hui in his Taiwan
"independence" scheme. Lee Teng-hui and the
like are bent on getting the Theatre Missile Defense (TMD), trying to
obtain an "umbrella" for their Taiwan "independence' stunt.  It points
out that TMD is a complicated system under which members in the system
will become mutually infiltrating and interdependent, being tantamount
to forming a military alliance.  Should Taiwan be admitted to TMD, It
means a military alliance between the US and Taiwan, giving an
"umbrella" to the 'independence' elements in
Taiwan.  This will cause great damage to China's sovereignty and a great
stumbling block to the reunification of China.  The Chinese people
across the Straits should be on the great alert against the US move and
thwart this plot, it urges. 

　　The US takes arms sale to Taiwan as one of
its purposes for economic gains - spurring its war industry, bringing
along the growth of related industries and creating more jobs.  More
important, it has a strategic consideration.  The US has a continual
policy of taking Taiwan as its
"unsinkable aircraft carrier". The Taiwan issue
has become a card in the hands of the US to create unceasing troubles to
China and curb China's development and strength growth , it says. 

　　However, it says, the US arms sale to Taiwan
is like a double-edge sward that can spawn good and cause damage as
well.  First, it will force China to beef up its military strength, lead
to arms race across the Straits and tighten regional tension.  This is
inconsistent with the US strategy to maintain stability in the
Asian-Pacific area.  Second, The arms sale runs against the China-US
communique and goes back on its words with the world community.  Third,
the immediate outcome of the arms sale is to encourage the Taiwan
"independence" elements. China has long
proclaimed that should Taiwan one day declare
"independence", China will sure use armed force
to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.  One of
the aims of Lee Teng-hui's "two nations theory" is to drive a wedge
between China and the US, expect war between the two countries in a bid
to pick chestnuts out of the fire - naturally a wishful thinking on the
part of Lee Teng-hui, it says. 

　　Whether to defend Taiwan by armed force is a
popular topic in the US these days.  It quotes TIME magazine as saying
that if Taiwan should declare "independence", the US would not give it
military defense and support and other countries would unlikely
recognize its sovereignty.  The commentary quotes observers in
Washington as indicating that the above analysis is objective and
represents public opinion in the US. 

The People's Daily/Opinion 1999-08-28 Page3
------------
Lee Teng-hui Betrays Nation's Interests

　　The People's Daily, in an article on August 27
criticizes Lee Teng-hui for betraying the interests of the Chinese. 

　　Lee's "two states" remark caused an
international uproar, but he said recently that the more confusion, the
better.  This crankiness shows his determination to divide the country
and be an enemy of the Chinese people, it says. 

　　Lee was encouraged by foreigners who
supported his remark publicly and staged an anti-China farce.  But any
interference in Chinese affairs will be doomed to fail, it says. 

　　The United States, Japan, and more than 100
other countries were shocked by Lee's remark and reaffirmed the
one-China position, proving that Lee can not change the international
community's pursuit of the one-China principle. 

　　More and more countries have come to
understand the Chinese people's determination to safeguard national
sovereignty and they are more alert after seeing through Lee's wild
ambition to split China and have set the scales of international
relations right, the article says. 

　　Lee is a trouble-maker who is defiant and
who not only sabotaged cross-Straits relations but endangered the peace
and stability of the Asia-Pacific Region as well.  But the international
community did not give him shelter and even a big country which Lee was
counting on didn't want to get involved. 

　　If tensions across the Taiwan Straits caused a
new crisis and turbulence in the Asia-Pacific Region it was not in the
economic and strategic interest of the big country.  Taiwan's economy
has been affected since the stock market slumped and consequences could
be even worse if the situation continues, and the "two- states" remark
could harm the Taiwanese people, the article says. 

　　To reunify or to separate is a major
principled question concerning the basic interest of the Chinese nation,
the article stresses. 

　　The Chinese people will not stop fighting
against divisiveness if Lee does not retract his
"two-states" remark and can not hesitate to
confront a betrayal of the nation and not cherishing peace and
stability, it says, concluding that Lee will come to a sticky end. 

The People's Daily/ HomeNews 1999-08-28 Page2

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