Taiwan Scraps Council on Unity With China

[DjTj]

TAIPEI, Taiwan, Feb. 28 -- Defying warnings from China and the United States, Taiwan eliminated its National Unification Council on Monday and said that only the Taiwanese people can decide whether they want to rejoin the mainland.

The decision was likely to have little immediate impact on how the independence-minded President Chen Shui-bian governs; the 16-year-old council has long been dormant, and there is no prospect of reunification anytime soon.

China's government and Communist Party Taiwan affairs offices jointly condemned Chen's move as an incitement to tension. "Chen Shui-bian persists in pushing the radical route of Taiwanese independence and provoking confrontation and conflict within Taiwanese society and across the Taiwan Strait," they said in a statement Tuesday. "This will only bring disaster to Taiwanese society."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/27/AR2006022700580.html

It's really a minor story, but I'm surprised it's stayed atop the international news headlines for a few days now, due in no small part to the Chinese putting out two articles or statements every hour about it.

I particularly like: Hu Jintao slashes "Taiwan Independence" attempt

The BBC has a pretty interesting pair of articles interviewing Taiwanese citizens and quoting Chinese-language newspapers. When you see the degree of party control in the newspapers of ohter countries, I think it really makes you appreciate how fair and balanced our press really is.

[Xameil]

I don't think it's that minor. This is a pot getting ready to boil. It seems small now, but tie this in with the others related to this, and a fight is on the horizon.