China / Taiwan heating up a bit...
From the
International Herald Tribune comes this story:
bq.
Plan for referendum in Taiwan could lead to war, Beijing says
China is putting pressure on the Bush administration to intervene decisively and prevent Taiwan from holding a referendum on cross-strait relations, calling the planned vote a ‘‘dangerous provocation’’ that could lead to war.
bq. Beijing sent a mission to Washington this week to press for more concrete steps to rein in President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan, who has repeatedly played down statements from President George W. Bush and the State Department expressing opposition to the referendum, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official said.
bq. The effort reflects mounting concern in Beijing that the Taiwan problem is growing more acute even though Chen recently softened the language of his proposed referendum and offered to resume peace talks with China if he wins re-election March 20. Some officials and analysts here are alarmed that Chen has pushed ahead with the plebiscite despite U.S. opposition.
China is seeking to grow its nation by taking over other 'disputed' countries - take a look at Tibet if you want an example. I had blogged about China's nationalistic military
here.
These people are certainly our trading partners and they have a lot to offer the world but they are
not our friends and we do need to keep an eye on their plans for expansion...
Posted by DaveH at February 5, 2004 11:00 AM