Taiwan Leader Pans Chinese Peace Proposal

Chen eschews 'one China,' maintains nation's independence
By Zach Samalin,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 18, 2007 3:28 PM CDT
Taiwan Leader Pans Chinese Peace Proposal
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Chen Ming-tong speaks to media in Taipei, Taiwan, in this Jan. 25, 2002 file photo. Chen on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2007 urged Chinese leaders to dismantle hundreds of missiles and recognize the self-ruled island's separate identity before the two rivals negotiate...   (Associated Press)

Taiwan's Chen Shui-bian panned a Chinese peace overture, criticizing the adherence to what he calls "the framework of the 'one China' principle." "I think this would mean, for the 23 million people of Taiwan, a treaty of surrender," said the president, referring to China's refusal to negotiate without considering Taiwan a component of the mainland, ruled from Beijing.

Chen had some words for the Chinese president, telling the Times that Hu Jintao "is like a smiling tiger, hiding a dagger in a smile, with honey in his mouth but a sword at his stomach." With Taiwanese presidential elections in March, China's proposal allows candidates to distinguish their policies from those of Chen, hardly a mainland favorite. (More Taiwan stories.)

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