Zhu: China will never allow Taiwan to declare independence

Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji warns Taiwan against pursuing independence

March 15, 2000
Web posted at: 6:30 p.m. HKT (1030 GMT)

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From staff and wire reports

BEIJING -- Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji says Taiwan will never be allowed to declare independence, regardless of who wins the island's presidential election.

"This is our bottom line, and the will of 1.25 billion Chinese people," Zhu told a press conference Wednesday to end China's 15-day National People's Conference legislative session.

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The three leading candidates in Saturday's vote -- Vice President Lien Chan, of the Nationalist Party; independent James Soong; and Chen Shui-bian, of the Democratic Progressive Party -- support independence for Taiwan.

Zhu urged Taiwan's electorate to vote with a cool head or risk not getting a second chance.

"Do not just act on impulse at this juncture, which will decide the future course that China and Taiwan will follow, otherwise I'm afraid you won't get another opportunity for regret," Zhu said.

Taiwan's recent stock market volatility was "a clear reflection of the worries of the aggression and arrogance of pro-Taiwan independence forces," Zhu said. The island's stock markets have fallen more than 6 percent this week amid fears of the election's outcome.

"Whoever stands for 'one China' will get our support. We can have talks with them, and our talks will cover anything," Zhu added, tempering his remarks.

China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province that must be reunified with the mainland, threatened last month in a policy white paper to attack Taiwan if it tries to drag its feet indefinitely over reunification negotiations. China and Taiwan split in 1949 amid a civil war.

White paper sparks strong reaction

The white paper's release prompted strong reaction from around the world, Zhu said, noting people have complained about its contents and voiced dissatisfaction with China's position.

But most people, Zhu said, haven't read the policy paper, which calls for the peaceful reunification of Taiwan and China under the "one country, two systems" concept implemented between China and Hong Kong in 1997 and China and Macau last year.

Former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping several years ago used words similar to those in the white paper to outline China's position on Taiwan.

"But why has there been such a strong reaction?" Zhu asked. He said the reason is that some people have always opposed China, and consistently think of the country as an enemy.

These people, Zhu said, would be happy to see the Taiwan issue drag on indefinitely. There have also been threats of retaliation, possibly armed intervention, against China if it tries to settle the Taiwan issue, he added.

Zhu noted U.S. President Bill Clinton used strong words to deal with the China-Taiwan issue during a recent speech at Johns Hopkins University.

"There must be a shift from threat to dialogue across the Taiwan Strait," Zhu quoted Clinton as saying. He suggested, however, that two words should be changed in Clinton's statement: "There must be a shift from threat to dialogue across the Pacific Ocean."

China battling corruption

China is working hard to combat corruption, Zhu added. He said, however, the problem is not as widespread as some media have reported. One article, he said, reported that China was one of the most corrupt nations in the world.

Zhu said that isn't true, and noted China, with more than 1.2 billion people, has the largest population in the world, and therefore its corruption problem is more visible than such crimes in other nations.

But China has made a lot of progress in fighting corruption, including executing some people convicted of corruption. He asked international reporters if their governments have implemented similar efforts to eliminate corruption.

Zhu said China will also work at building its legal system, and he said more corruption cases will be exposed to the public through the media.

China, he also said, will construct a pipeline to transfer natural gas from the large natural gas reserves in western China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region to the east.

The project, he added, will require substantial financial input, and overseas investment will be welcome. International investors will receive shares in the pipeline.

China needs to tap new markets because some of the nation's industries have become saturated, Zhu said. However, China will have to build infrastructure in the vast west, and at the same time improve the region's environment.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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China ministry of foreign trade & economic cooperation
China Economic Information Network
Chinese Embassy in Washington DC

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