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CHINESE REUNIFICATION WITH TAIWAN ?AT ANY COST?September 8, 1999ÿThe South China Morning Post reported: "China will eventually reunify with Taiwan no matter what the cost, the People's Daily said yesterday. ?No matter how grim the situation is, no matter how tortuous the road is, the Chinese Government and the Chinese people will surmount all difficulties and ultimately complete the great cause of reunifying the motherland,? the flagship paper said. The commentary denounced Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui for ?provoking? Beijing by challenging the longstanding mutually accepted policy of a single, indivisible China that includes Taiwan. ?Deep down inside, when Lee Teng-hui says he wants "reunification", it's fake. When he thinks about ?independence?, it's for real,? the paper said. The warning came just one day after a senior American official urged China not to use force, saying the United States would probably respond to any military attack against Taiwan. ?We believe that in such an eventuality, the use of force would be catastrophic for China as well as for Taiwan - and, of course, would be disastrous for US-China relations, and would, no doubt, pit us in an actual war,? said Susan Shirk, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs..." |
