The Chinese government issues an
immediate protest to the announcement that U.S. Energy
Secretary Bill Richardson will travel to Taiwan, the
Associated Press reports. Richardson is scheduled to
address a joint U.S.-Taiwan Business Council
conference in Taipei on November 10, and is scheduled
to meet Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui during his visit
to the island republic.
"We oppose this firmly,"
said Chinese Embassy spokesman Yu Shuning in
Washington. "We oppose any official contact
between Taiwan and other governments." U.S. State
Department spokesman James Rubin said that the visit
is "consistent with the maintenance of unofficial
relations with Taiwan," and did not reflect a
change in U.S. policy. The U.S. is Taiwan's largest
trading partner, AP adds, receiving 23 percent of the
republic's exports and accounting for 20 percent of
the island's imports.
China toughened its stance on Tibet,
warning President Clinton not to meet the Dalai Lama
during his ten-day visit to the United States, the South
China Morning Post reports. "The U.S. side
repeatedly promised not to support Tibetan
independence," said Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman Zhu Bangzao. "If the United States
allows the Dalai Lama to arrange meetings with its
leadership, it is playing a supporting role in
supporting his activities, which seriously hurts the
feelings of the Chinese people."
Reinforcing its hard-line position
toward the Dalai Lama, on November 5 the Chinese State
Council stated that Beijing did not recognize
"the illegal government in exile." A
spokesman said it was "obvious that the
anti-China forces in the international community are
still trying to use the Dalai Lama to put pressure on
the Chinese Government." The Dalai Lama began his
U.S. visit at a conference of Nobel Peace Prize
laureates on human rights and conflict resolution in
Charlottesville, Virginia.
In Manila, the Philippines Government
accused China of sending armed cargo and warships to
Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, near the Philippine
coast, Reuters reports. A spokesman for
President Jose Estrada said the Chinese ambassador was
being summoned to receive a protest for China's
"intrusion" into sovereign territory of the
Philippines. "We were informed that the Chinese
are building several structures on Mischief Reef and
have sent several warships there. Including two armed
military vessels with helipads," the presidential
spokesman said. Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said
Philippine reconnaissance planes had sighted seven
Chinese vessels in the reef area on October 28.
The naval ships were escorting cargo
vessels ferrying construction materials to reinforce
their existing structures on Mischief reef. Mercado
stated this was a violation of a code of conduct which
the two countries had signed on claimants to the
Spratly Islands. "These are clear indications
that they are potential security threats to the
sovereignty and integrity of the Philippines, said
Mercado. Chinese Ambassador Guan Dengming said China
was, "committed to maintaining good
relations...We are following the consensus to maintain
peace in the South China Sea."
