China Tells U.S. To Back Off

Despite calls by U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke for Taiwan and China to resolve their differences peacefully, Beijing said Tuesday that China would never negotiate with anyone who advocates the island's independence.

During two hours of talks with Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, Holbrooke said he not only called for the two rival governments to negotiate but also repeated U.S. support for Beijing's position that Taiwan and the mainland are part of ”one China.”

In a parallel diplomatic effort, the Clinton administration is sending former U.S. congressman Lee Hamilton, an expert on Chinese affairs, to Taiwan on Wednesday to urge restraint from the incoming government.

Tang conveyed to Holbrooke China's wish that the U.S. side recognize the “sensitivity and complexity” of the Taiwan problem and that it avoid interfering in China's internal affairs, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xinhua also quoted Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji as saying that China would never negotiate with independence supporters, remarks apparently directed at Taiwan's president-elect, Chen Shui-bian.

Chen's Democratic Progressive Party favors letting Taiwanese voters decide whether the island should declare independence from China, formalizing the self-rule it has enjoyed since the two sides split amid civil war 51 years ago. Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory and says it would use military force to prevent it from going independent.

Before his election Saturday, Chen softened his position, saying he would only call a referendum if China attacks. But Beijing is convinced that Taiwan has been edging toward independence under the outgoing president, Lee Teng-hui, and fears Chen will go further.

Chinese leaders were initially restrained in responding to Chen's victory, adopting a wait-and-see attitude. But on Monday, Chinese President Jiang Zemin said Taiwan must first accept that it is an inseparable part of “one China” for talks to begin.

Jiang reiterated his position to Holbrooke on Tuesday, saying: “I have openly stated that leaders across the Taiwan Strait can hold talks, but the prerequisite for such talks is the one-China principle.”

Chen says he is willing to discuss “one China” and anything else with Beijing, but will not let the principle be a condition for talks. But instead of firing back at Jiang, Chen on Tuesday kept to the moderate language he has used since his victory.

“My duty is to seek lasting peace in the Taiwan Strait,” he said. “People's welfare and national interests will be the top guiding principles'' of the new government.

Taiwan's legislature also passed a bill Tuesday that would pave the way for direct trade and transport links between some of Taiwan's outlying islands and China.

While largely symbolic, the bill reflects a popular desire on Taiwan to overturn a ban iplace since the 1949 split with China on direct transportation and communication links.

In their two-hour meeting, Holbrooke told Jiang the U.S. government would stop a U.S. congressional bill to deepen Taiwan-U.S. military ties from becoming law, Xinhua said. China fiercely opposes the measure.