Taiwan Makes Dangerous Decision to Rename 'Liaison Offices'

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 26, 2002

Taiwan Makes Dangerous Decision to Rename 'Liaison Offices'

The Taiwan authorities are beefing up their effort to seek Taiwan "independence" by gradual means and have made a dangerous new step on the road of desinonization.

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The Taiwan authorities are beefing up their effort to seek Taiwan "independence" by gradual means and have made a dangerous new step on the road of desinonization.

A central government official made the remark on Monday immediately after Taiwan's "foreign ministry" reportedly said that it is planning to rename its representative offices abroad.

"This is another provocative act" towards the country, Tuesday's Wen Wei Po quoted an official on Taiwan affairs, who declined to be named, as saying.

A Taiwan newspaper reported that Taipei is talking with Washington over the changing of the island's 14 liaison offices in the United States.

With a lack of diplomatic ties, Taiwan's representative offices in the US are currently represented under the name of "Taipei Economic and Cultural Office".

The other names representing Taiwan's overseas government offices include trade mission, special delegation, and even Chung Hwa Travel Service Hong Kong.

Yet the names would be changed into either "Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office", or just "Taiwan Representative Office", according to Taiwan media.

"A number of people and scholars had recommended to the government that all the official offices abroad should be renamed in a more consistent way," Taiwan's "foreign ministry" spokeswoman Chang Siao-yueh said.

This is just another concrete step taken by the island authorities to materialize the concept of Taiwan independence, said the central government official, calling the act "playing with fire".

He said the central government will take effective measures, as it has reiterated, to stop any conspiracy aimed at splitting the motherland.

He noted that Taiwan's leader Chen Shui-bian from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) last month gave the go-ahead to add "Taiwan" to local passports.

But such kinds of acts "cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China", he said.

According to Taiwan media, the island's name changing efforts will start from the United States in the first phase.

The second phase will see the office name change happen in Japan and other European countries, until it finally includes all countries that lack formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

But the central government has pledged to make sure such kinds of strife for independence will not come easily.

"In the world arena, we will make great efforts to prevent 'Taiwan independence', or 'two Chinas', or 'one China, one Taiwan'," the official said.

The central government will also try to prevent Taiwan from joining any international organization where statehood is required, he added.

Taiwan authorities have recently quickened their pace on the road of seeking independence based on the belief that the United States will come to the rescue in the event of a military confrontation with the mainland.

Taiwan has also offered to buy 30 US-made AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters to boost its anti-landing capability against the mainland, Taiwan media reported on Monday.

Source: China Daily HK Edition

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