A senior
Foreign
Ministry official Thursday warned that both Sino-US relations
and cross-Straits ties will be harmed by the United States having
granted permission to Taiwanese "defense minister" Tang Yiau-ming
to attend a forum in Florida.
According to a ministry statement, Chinese Assistant Foreign
Minister Zhou Wenzhong told US Ambassador Clark T. Randt that the
US permission is an open violation of the one-China policy and the
three
Sino-US joint communiques, and will further encourage Taiwan
separatism.
China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to this,
said Zhou.
He
urged the United States to adhere to the one-China policy and the
three Sino-US joint communiques and stop official exchanges and
military contacts with Taiwan to avoid damaging Sino-US ties and
harming US interests.
The US State Department said on Wednesday that Tang would take part
in a "defense summit" in Florida sponsored by US weapons
suppliers.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan Thursday also asked the US to
cancel the planned meeting.
During Thursday's regular Foreign Ministry briefing, the spokesman
defended the 17.6 percent increase in China's military budget,
which was revealed on Wednesday. He said that, with the development
of China's economy, it was natural to effect a corresponding
increase in the military budget to guarantee the living standards
of service personnel and modernize the army.
However, Kong pointed out that the military budget has been
increasing at a slower rate in recent years. Military spending as a
proportion of the national budget is also decreasing, he said.
"China is the most populous country in the world... But the amount
of China's defense spending is only a small percentage of its GDP,"
said Kong. "It is far lower than that of developed countries.
"I
believe looking at a country's defense policy should look at more
than its increases in defense spending. It should primarily be
looking at what kind of policy it carries out," he added.
Kong said he appreciated New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark's
apology on February 12 for her country's past unfair treatment of
Chinese immigrants.
From the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, the New Zealand
government imposed a discriminatory poll tax on Chinese
immigrants.
Kong said of the apology: "this will be conducive to the
enhancement of social unity in New Zealand and encourage the New
Zealand Chinese to take an active part in social and economic
activities in that country.
"We are confident that the New Zealand Chinese will continue to
contribute to prosperity in New Zealand and will play an active
role in promoting Sino-New Zealand relations."
Kong also briefed the press on the Sino-Russian consultations on
strategic stability that were held in Beijing on Wednesday.
The two sides exchanged their views on the current world security
situation and major issues in international arms control and
disarmament, according to Kong.
Kong said the two sides agreed that it is of crucial importance to
world peace and security to safeguard international arms control
and systems of disarmament and to maintain a global strategic
balance.
(China
Daily March 8, 2002)