Beijing condemns Chen for independence moves

Beijing, Feb 14: Beijing condemned Taiwan's President today for dropping ''China'' from the name of state-run firms and introducing ''distorted'' history books, moves it said were aimed at severing links with the mainland.

Taiwan's post office and several state-run companies formally changed their names on Monday under orders from President Chen Shui-bian's government despite a rebuke from ally Washington which wants to maintain a delicate status quo between the two.

Li Weiyi, spokesman for China's policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office, said the ''flurry of de-sinifying moves'' were ''deliberate political manipulation'' that would heighten tensions.

''They are evildoings intended for the selfish gains of individuals and a single political party,'' Li told a news conference, referring to Chen's independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

The names of the state-run companies in Taiwan were originally given by the Nationalist Party, which once ruled all of China but fled to Taiwan after losing the Chinese civil war to the Communists in 1949. Chen routed the Nationalists in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.

Li also blasted Taiwan's new high school history textbooks, some of which cut short or just skipped the account of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, when invading Japanese troops slaughtered at least 142,000 people in the then Chinese capital Nanking.

''Taiwan's young generation should be taught (an) objective and true history and we resolutely oppose any actions to distort, obliterate or confuse history,'' Li said.

Changes in the textbooks to replace references of ''our country'', ''this country'' and ''the mainland'' with simply ''China'' have also drawn Beijing's ire.

''They are aimed at creating an atmosphere for Taiwan's de jure independence,'' Li said.

Chen and the DPP advocate the ''re-engineering'' of Taiwan's current constitution, which still styles itself as the Republic of China and claims sovereignty over the mainland. Beijing has warned the move would lead to war.

''Taiwan independence is a dead end,'' Li said.

Despite simmering political tensions, trade, investment and tourism have flourished between the two sides.

Li said talks on opening up Taiwan to mainland tourists had achieved ''positive results'' but a timetable had yet to be finalised.

He declined to comment on the indictment of Ma Ying-jeou, chairman of the pro-unification Nationalist Party, on a charge of misappropriating special funds yesterday. A defiant Ma announced he will run in the 2008 presidential elections.

Reuters