China's Wen offers to resume talks with Taiwan

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao offered on Tuesday to resume talks with self-ruled Taiwan, but his plea was ignored in a barrage of anti-China rhetoric ahead of Saturday's presidential election on the island.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since defeated Nationalist forces fled to the island at the end of a civil war in 1949. Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.

Wen told his news conference in Beijing at the end of the annual meeting of parliament that he wanted talks as soon as possible, but also warned Taiwan that passage of a contentious referendum on U.N. membership would disrupt ties.

"We hope to resume peace talks across the Straits as soon as possible under the one-China principle. Any questions can be addressed, including such major issues as ending the hostile state between the two sides," Wen said.

"Anyone who wants to separate Taiwan from the motherland will not succeed and is doomed to fail," he added.

Taiwan's ruling and independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party immediately denounced Wen for trying to interfere in its election.

"Wen Jiabao has to realise the future of Taiwan is determined by Taiwan people and any interference in our rights is going to be opposed by people here," said Lai I-chung, the DPP's deputy international affairs director.

"This position crosses party lines. Basically it's the island's position," Lai added.

Taiwan will also hold a referendum on U.N. membership alongside the presidential election, ignoring warnings from the United States, France, Japan and China.

China opposed the referendum because it would change Beijing's cherished policy that both the island and the mainland belong to a single country, Wen said.

"I'm a patriot and I always think of this line that we have always longed to see a reunified China," he added.

WAR OF WORDS

DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh used the opportunity to ratchet up his war of words on China in an appeal to the island's electors, again warning that Taiwan risked the same fate as Tibet if it cosied up too close to Beijing.

Taiwan must stick up for victims of the "bloodshed" at the hands of Chinese soldiers in Tibet because someday China might use force against Taiwan and would want outside support, he said.

"A lot of people have appealed to us candidates to speak out," Hsieh told a news conference on Tuesday after attending a 400-person candlelight vigil in support of Tibetan protesters in Taipei on Monday night.

"We want to encourage the Tibetans, as they are miserable people right now. Then when Taiwan has problems later (the international community) will come. It's like a warranty," added Hsieh, who is trailing in opinion polls.

Hsieh linked Tibet to his election opponent Ma Ying-jeou's proposal for a common market with China. If Taiwan accepts any "one China principle," he said, China will seize power.

"If we accept 'one-China', we're the same as Tibet," he said. "Just like Tibet, we'll become a domestic matter for China."

Over the past week Hsieh has ramped up his anti-China fervour, his strongest theme in an otherwise lacklustre campaign and consistent with the hard line against China of current President Chen Shui-bian.

Su Chi, deputy manager for Taiwan's main opposition Nationalist Party's candidate Ma, who favours closer ties with China, said there was nothing new in Wen's comments.

"It looks like there's no change," Su told Reuters. "It's just reiteration. So we will reiterate that the future of cross-Strait relations is for the 23 million citizens of Taiwan to decide."