China slammed Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's intensified talk of independence on Monday, saying anyone who sought a split from China would be a "criminal in history".
Chen said on Sunday the self-ruled island should pursue independence and change its official title, the "Republic of China" - moves that are also certain to worry its key ally, the United States, which seeks to maintain the status quo between the two sides.
"Don't listen to local leaders," Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told Taiwan reporters in Beijing, a reference to China's view that Taiwan is a province rather than a country. "Whoever wants to split away will become a criminal in history."
China has claimed Taiwan as a renegade province since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, when the defeated Nationalists fled to the island. It has threatened war if Taipei were to declare formal independence.
China's army made that position clear. "As the People's Liberation Army, we firmly oppose Taiwan independence and will safeguard the unity of the People's Republic of China," Chang Guixiang, a People's Liberation Army delegate at the parliamentary session under way in Beijing, told reporters.
Shi Si Hao, with the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, said Chen's speech would not be helpful for the development of cross-Strait relations. "I think he wants to shift the attention away from his own problems," Shi said. Chen's speech on Sunday depressed Taiwan markets. The main TAIEX stock index closed down 3.74 percent on Monday and the Taiwan dollar weakened to 32.915 against the dollar by early afternoon local time.
Chen advanced a "four wants" policy, possibly an alternative to the "four no's" pledges he made in 2000 not to take steps towards independence so long as China did not threaten force. He now wants independence, a new constitution, development, and new names for local firms that use the word "China" in their title.
Chen, plagued by scandals and with just one year of his presidency left, lacks the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to call a referendum on changing the constitution. His Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is looking to legislative elections due at the end of this year to strengthen its hand.
His outspoken vice president, Annette Lu, who also leans towards independence and whose frank criticisms of China have infuriated Beijing, will announce on Tuesday she will run for president in next year's election, her office said.
The main opposition Nationalist Party, once ruler of all of China, said in a statement that it did not support independence and called Chen's direction a "disaster for Taiwan".
Its smaller ally, the People First Party, filed a civil lawsuit on Monday charging Chen with sedition. His remarks could lead to war, impacting Taiwan and other parts of the world, party spokesman Lee Hung-chun said. Beijing rejects any possibility of full independence for the island, saying reunification is a supreme national goal.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao offered to resume talks. "We will continue under the basis of the 'one China' principle ... to seek early resumption of cross-Strait dialogue and negotiations," Wen told parliament in Beijing.
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, recognising "one China", but is obliged by the Taiwan Relations Act to help the island defend itself.
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