Beijing yesterday issued a stern warning to Taipei on its push
for United Nations membership, saying that it has made "necessary
preparations" for dealing with any "serious situation".
The strongly-worded statement by the Taiwan Affairs Office of
the State Council followed a rally organized by Taiwan leader Chen
Shui-bian calling for a referendum to join the UN under the name of
Taiwan - a move that is considered a step toward "formal
independence".
During the rally on Saturday, Chen tried to feverishly whip up
support for his "referendum" plan on the island's entry to the UN,
and claimed that "Taiwan is a sovereign state".
The Taiwan Affairs Office said in the statement that the
situation at the rally showed that Chen's "referendum" plan has
failed to win the support of the masses.
"We are keeping a close watch over developments on the other
side of the Straits and have made necessary preparations to cope
with any serious situation," the statement said.
Attempts by the Taiwan authorities to join the UN have twice
been rebuffed in the last two months even as Chen has been pushing
his plan to hold a "referendum" in Taiwan on its entry to the
UN.
"The warning shows the mainland's firm determination to
safeguard national unity," said Zhu Weidong with the Institute of
Taiwan Studies affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences.
Also yesterday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu urged the
United States to cancel its proposed arms sales to Taiwan
immediately and stop sending any "wrong signal" to secessionist
forces on the island, Xinhua reported.
The Pentagon announced tentative plans last week to sell surplus
P-3C Orion submarine-hunting aircraft and air-defense missiles to
Taiwan.
(China Daily September 17, 2007)