Taiwan Separatists Doomed to Fail: Chinese Scolars

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, August 12, 2002

Taiwan Separatists Doomed to Fail: Chinese Scolars

The international community should stop sending misleading information to Taiwan separatists that further encourages them to split China, Chinese scholars said on Friday.

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The international community should stop sending misleading information to Taiwan separatists that further encourages them to split China, Chinese scholars said on Friday.

Journalists from leading international media, including ABC, Reuters, AFP, Die Welt and the Washington Post, were present when the scholars made their remarks at a press conference held at the Information Office of the State Council, the Chinese cabinet.

Five experts on the Taiwan question from Beijing and Shanghai discussed the motives behind Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's August 3 claim of "one country on each side" and his proposed "referendum." They contend that Chen's pro-independence remarks deeply impaired relations across the Taiwan Straits and seriously endangered peace and stability on both sides of the Straits and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Following are excerpts of the news conference:

ABC: Why does the Chinese mainland deem a "referendum" in Taiwan as provocative? May it not lead to a reunification choice?

Answer: Taiwan is part of China, not a colony of any foreign country in accordance with international law since its return to the embrace of China in 1945. So it is not legally entitled to a referendum, said Li Jiaquan, a researcher with the Institute of Taiwan Affairs under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

Xu Shiquan, director of the CASS Institute of Taiwan Affairs, and Su Ge, vice-president of the China International Affairs Institute, said the US Civil War and the tension surrounding Quebec in Canada prove that a area within a sovereign state has no right to conduct a referendum to decide if it will remain part of the country.

So Taiwan's future should be decided by the entire Chinese population of 1.3 billion, including Taiwan compatriots.

Die Welt: Could a crisis arise before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing?

Answer: People of goodwill hope that no crisis will happen before the Olympics or afterwards. But we have to take measures, other than merely good wishes, to guarantee normal relations between the two sides, said Yang Jiemian, vice-president of the Shanghai International Affairs Institute.

Li said all Chinese people should remain on alert to possible acts of sabotage at the Olympics by radical separatists.

The separatists may believe that 2008 is the best time to pursue independence because the mainland will be distracted by the Games and may therefore devote less time to the political situation in Taiwan, Xu said.

But any plan to undermine the Olympics would go against the will of the entire Chinese people and would be rejected by the international community. If separatists dare to make trouble in 2008, they are doomed to fail, Xu said.

Reuters: How does the Chinese Government intend to deal with Chen Shui-bian? Will the "Three Direct Links" across the Taiwan Straits be affected?

Answer: The Chinese Government will maintain the principles of "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems." Leaders of Taiwan must abandon the "Taiwan independence" claim and accept the one-China principle, Su said.

The Washington Post: Will there be any readjustment in China's Taiwan policies?

Answer: The Chinese mainland has been consistent on Taiwan policies, namely preserving the one-China principle and trying every effort possible to solve the Taiwan question by peaceful means. The mainland will continue to promote economic, trade and cultural exchanges as well as the exchange of personnel to advance the "Three Direct Links," Xu said.

If Chen Shui-bian accelerates the push for Taiwan independence, the Chinese mainland may shift the focus from "promoting reunification" to "fighting (Taiwan) independence," and so step up the pace of modernizing national defences, said Yan Xuetong, president of the International Affairs Institute at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

The means for the acceleration of reunification can be shifted from economic exchanges to military ones, Yan said.

AFP: Do the latest developments in Taiwan suggest that President Jiang Zemin's "Eight-Point Proposal" on the Taiwan question are unsuccessful?

Answer: Jiang's proposal remain successful, all the scholars agreed.

Xu said Chinese mainland leaders of different generations have adhered to a consistent Taiwan policy. In the process of China's reunification, it is natural to have some uproar and interference.

Jiang's proposal cannot be blamed for the Taiwan leaders' independence claims, Xu said.

On the contrary, Jiang's proposal have advanced progress in cross-Straits relations. This worried Chen, and that is why he embarked upon this political venture, Yang said.

But time is on the side of the mainland, for the number of Taiwan people in favour of reunification is rising, Yang said.

The growth of Taiwan's separatist force was assisted by a handful of foreign powers, Li said. But the international community should understand and respect the mainland's one-China principle and not encourage Taiwanese independence, he said.

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