World

Oops -- Did We Say War?

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

April 27, 2000 / 12:19 PM EDT / CBS

A "slip of the pen" nearly caused an international shake-up Thursday when a news report erroneously claimed a Chinese senior envoy threatened war unless Taiwan accepted the principle of "one China."

China's official Xinhua News Agency ran a story quoting Tang Shubei as saying that if Taiwan did not recognize the doctrine then "the result will not be peace but war."

However, an editor at the agency's Beijing headquarters said Tang had been misquoted.

Instead of using the word "war" the editor responsible for Taiwan news claims Tang had said "disaster."

"It was a slip of the pen by the reporter," he said.

The erroneous report was carried on Xinhua's Chinese language service.

Later, an English version of the story quoted Tang as saying that "if they do not recognize that Taiwan is part of China and the one China principle, this will lead to disaster instead of peace, confrontation instead of harmony, and hostility instead of goodwill."

Beijing has insisted that there is one China - the People's Republic of China founded by the the communists in 1949 - and that Taiwan is a rebel province.

The original inaccurate story appeared to indicate a change in Chinese policy. Beijing has threatened war if the island declared independence, if it dragged its heels indefinitely on reunification talks or if it was invaded by foreign forces.

Meanwhile, Taiwan President-elect Chen Shui-bian sought Thursday to allay any fears of rising tension with China, saying the island's security apparatus and the United States had assured him there has been no unusual Chinese military activity.

"Everybody can rest assured. Routine drills by the Chinese Communists are frequent, especially every April and May," Chen told a crowd of supporters in the northern county of Hsinchu.

"Security units told me, the U.S. side told me that there is nothing unusual," he said. "So we should not scare ourselves."

Defense Ministry spokesman Kung Fan-ting said Tuesday that China had intensified training for bomber and jet fighter crews and that there was unusual naval activity near the Diaoyu, or Senkaku, islands in the East China Sea recently.

Taiwan stocks fell heavily Wednesday, sending Taiwan officials scrambling to contain the damage.

Tension between Taipei and Beijing has been running high since Chen, whose Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) espouses independence from China, won presidential elections, ending more than five decades of Nationalist rule in Taiwan.

Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has threatened to invade if the island declares independence. Chen has soft-pedaled on his pro-independence stand, but Beijing is unconvinced and has said it will watch him closely.