The Olympic torch will not stop in Taiwan en route to the Beijing Games in 2008, Taiwanese officials said on Friday after talks broke down with China which considers the self-ruled island its sovereign territory.
Beijing organisers later confirmed they had received a letter from Taiwan on Thursday "unilaterally closing the doors on the talks" and another from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) saying the relay would have to go ahead without a stop in Taipei.
Thomas Tsai, president of Taiwan's "Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee", told reporters that Beijing had "belittled" Taiwan throughout the negotiation process and insisted Taiwan could only use the flag and anthem as sanctioned by the IOC.
Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the Beijing organising committee BOCOG, expressed "deep regret" but said responsibility for the breakdown of negotiations lay entirely with Taiwan.
Tensions over the island's sovereignty are a constant source of acrimony between Taiwan and China, and have affected agreements from trade to sports, especially as independence-minded Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian leverages anti-Beijing sentiment before his term ends in May.
China has claimed self-ruled Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. It has vowed to bring the democratic island's 23 million people under its rule, by force if necessary. Jiang said Beijing had negotiated "sincerely and pragmatically" but Taiwan had repeatedly broken its promises and gone back on a written agreement to be included in the torch relay.
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