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Taiwan's Chen set to dissolve council on unification+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TAIPEI, Feb. 27_(Kyodo) _ Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian is set to finalize his decision Monday to suspend or abolish a dormant council formed 15 years ago to promote unification with mainland China, a move likely to result in an escalation of tensions across the Taiwan Strait, local media reported. Meanwhile, China condemned the Taiwan leader's anticipated move again Monday, saying it is separatist in nature and "symbolizes the absolute bankruptcy of Chen Shui-bian's political sincerity and moral character." Independence-leaning Chen, who advocates a separate Taiwan identity from the mainland, is expected to meet with his national security advisors later in the day and reach a conclusion on how to deal with the National Unification Council and its policy guidelines, which he has dismissed as "an absurd result of the absurd times." Earlier this month, Chen, whose popularity has nosedived to a record low in recent months, said he will press ahead with his plan to abolish the council and guidelines. The move greatly cheered his Democratic Progressive Party's fundamental supporters but startled the United States, the island's closest ally and main arm supplier. Washington has urged Chen to stop shaking up the status quo and to uphold his inaugural pledges in 2000 not to dissolve the symbolic council and not to seek a permanent split from the mainland during his term. Local media speculated that Chen, under tremendous pressure, is likely to tone down his rhetoric by using such words as "freeze," "suspend" or "cease to apply," instead of "abolish" so as to reassure the United States that he has no intention to alter Taiwan's current political status. Chen's move has infuriated Beijing, which has labeled him as a "troublemaker" and has warned that the move is a dangerous provocation that would greatly damage cross-strait ties. The Taiwan Work Office of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council released a joint statement Monday condemning Chen's proposal. "This not only symbolizes the absolute bankruptcy of Chen Shui-bian's political sincerity and moral character, it also exposes his plot to carry out new separatist activities, especially that he will smooth out the 'Taiwan legal independence' road via 'constitutional reform,'" the statement says. It says that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait worked hard last year to improve relations, making Chen's "route to independence" harder but Chen's efforts are creating a cross-strait "crisis" and could destabilize the Asia-Pacific region. China has threatened military action should the self-ruled island, which split away in 1949 amid a civil war, declare its independence. |