China must talk to the democratically elected government of Taiwan, the US' top diplomat told Chinese leaders yesterday, also warning that Washington took a dim view of Beijing's military policies.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US was encouraged by the recent contact between China and Taiwanese opposition parties, but was also worried about China's military build-up.
"We do think cross-straits [sic] contacts are a good thing. And to the degree that the Chinese government has been engaging in those cross-straits contacts, we think it's good," Rice told reporters after meeting with President Hu Jintao (
"We hope that that would extend to contacts with the elected government of Taiwan, because that would be also very good," Rice said.
Leaders from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), People First Party and New Party have visited China in recent months in what they describe as an effort to improve ties.
However, critics have said the meetings were thinly-veiled attempts by Beijing to foster political discord in Taiwan as part of a "divide and conquer" strategy.
Beijing was seeking to isolate and put pressure on President Chen Shui-bian (
Rice also highlighted Washington's uncertainty regarding China's intentions in the Taiwan Strait, saying the US government -- not just the Pentagon -- had concerns about China's military buildup.
She emphasized, however, that that the US did not necessarily view China as a threat.
"There is no doubt that we have concerns about the size and pace of the Chinese military buildup and it's not just the Pentagon," Rice told a news conference after the meeting.
"That does not mean that we view China as, quote-unquote, a threat," she said, adding that the Chinese military buildup raised concerns about the balance of power in the region.
Rice's comments come as the Pentagon works with several other US government agencies on a report about China's growing military clout. The US Department of Defense has no target date in mind for the release of the 2005 annual report, officially required to be delivered to Congress by March 1.
There was speculation it was being delayed until after Rice's trip to China because, in the past, Beijing has objected strongly to its portrayal in such reports as a growing threat to the military balance in Asia.
US defense sources told the Taipei Times that this year's report "will definitely not be welcomed by Beijing." The 2005 report would take a harder line on China than in previous years, the sources said.
Meanwhile, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said it welcomed Rice's call for China to talk directly with the government.
"Rice's appeal is in compliance with our basic stance. We have consistently asked the Beijing government not to only contact our opposition parties but to also engage in dialogue with our popularly elected government," MAC Chairman Joseph Wu (
Noting that Taiwan and China have a very robust economic relationship, Rice said the US encourages "as much contact as possible" between Taiwan and China.
Wu said he welcomes Rice's comments, adding that Beijing should understand that it will only see progress in cross-strait relations through dialogue with the government.
Rice was due to leave China late yesterday for Thailand.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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