By ERIK ECKHOLM
EIJING, March 6 -- In one of the most forceful statements yet on Taiwan, the Chinese military said today that it would "spare no effort in a blood-soaked battle" to protect China's territorial integrity and that China would not be tricked into negotiations with Taiwan leaders who secretly opposed rejoining the motherland.
While it did not mention by name any candidates in Taiwan's presidential election on March 18, the warning, in an editorial of the Liberation Army Daily, seemed to be aimed at Chen Shui-bian, the candidate of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party.
For years Mr. Chen and his party campaigned for Taiwan's formal independence from China, which considers the island an integral part of the nation that was separated by civil war.
Mr. Chen has recently moderated that position, saying a formal declaration would not be necessary because Taiwan already enjoys de facto independence. He promises that if elected, he will seek deeper economic ties and peace talks with the mainland.
But in language clearly intended to describe Mr. Chen, the editorial said Taiwan leaders who "consistently pushed for independence" had used "sweet-sounding rhetoric to bluff that they want to have 'benevolent harmony, positive cooperation and lasting peace' with the mainland -- all to swindle the Taiwan populace."
"We must on no account be dazzled by the pretty phrases," the editorial said.
The editorial from the military's official mouthpiece was reprinted in People's Daily and other newspapers, indicating that the views had been approved at the highest levels of the Communist Party. And the government also signaled its resolution when the Finance Minister, Xiang Huaicheng, announced a 12.7 percent rise in military spending for this year.
While Mr. Chen appeared to be the subject of the editorial, neither of Taiwan's other leading candidates has unambiguously accepted what China calls an unshakable precondition for talks: that Taiwan is legally part of a Beijing-centered "One China."
Some creative compromises in language will be needed if the hopes in Taipei and Beijing for renewed dialogue later this year, with a new president of Taiwan, are to be realized.
The military editorial was part of an orchestrated barrage of warnings from senior leaders here as Taiwan's election approaches, the American Congress debates a proposal for closer military ties with the island and the Clinton administration weighs Taiwan's request for advanced weapons.
It will be many years before China has the military capacity to mount a blockade of Taiwan, let alone invade it, foreign analysts say. But the Chinese leaders have clearly decided that they must put pressure on the island now to halt a slide toward independence.
In a policy statement on Feb. 21 that created new worries in Taipei and Washington, China said more clearly than before that Taiwan's indefinite foot-dragging in negotiations could set off an attack, a threat previously made against an outright declaration of independence. But the report stressed China's desire for a peaceful settlement and its willingness to grant Taiwan extraordinary autonomy.
That report gave no deadline for talks, and none of the subsequent statements indicate changes in the carrot-and-stick policy it outlined. But the recent pronouncements have stressed China's desire to secure the return of Taiwan "at an early date."
On Sunday, while expressing hopes for a peaceful settlement, Prime Minister Zhu Rongji, who is considered a moderate on the issue, said China "will not sit idly by and watch any serious separatist activity."
Sunday's newspapers featured a speech by President Jiang Zemin in which he restated China's preference for negotiations but also the threat of "drastic measures" if Taiwan delays indefinitely.
In a speech to legislators on Sunday, Gen. Zhang Wannian, a top military leader, said, "The two sides of the strait cannot remain perpetually divided," and "Taiwanese independence means war."
In Taiwan the three major presidential candidates have all described themselves as peacemakers, promising to encourage economic ties and engage in talks with the mainland.
At the same time, none have disowned President Lee Teng-hui's assertion that Taiwan's dealings with the mainland should be conducted on a state-to-state basis. Mr. Lee's stance has been popular, and it appears to be politically impossible for any candidate to backtrack too far.
On Sunday, Vice President Lien Chan, the candidate of the governing Nationalist Party, warned voters that it would be reckless to elect Mr. Chen, because of his "independence platform."
But Mr. Lien also said, "The so-called state-to-state relationship is the constant policy of my country and my government," repeating the phrase that outraged Beijing when Mr. Lee first used it last summer |
