Washington and Beijing should band together to press Taipei to abandon its highly loaded referendum plan in a bid to ensure stable cross-Straits ties, said leading experts on Taiwan studies yesterday.

"Strengthened co-operation between China and the United States in this field benefits not only the interests of both sides, but also long-term peace and stability in cross-Straits relations," said Yu Keli, director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Yu told China Daily that Washington should closely work with Beijing and state its opposition more clearly against Taipei's plans to hold an island-wide referendum, which he described as "a creeping pro-independence move that threatens to trigger a crisis in cross-Straits ties".

He made the remarks after Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian reaffirmed on Saturday his commitment to holding a referendum to determine whether to finish a partially built nuclear power plant before his four-year term ends next March.

Chen, who doubles as chairman of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said his government is "now drawing up a plan to establish a referendum mechanism" as he delivered a telecast speech to the 30th Annual Meeting of the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations in London.

Although the referendum, at least on the surface, is non-political and plays no part in cross-Straits relations, it is widely believed that the ruling DPP is taking advantage of the plan to pave the way for a referendum on whether to seek formal independence from China.

The DPP enshrines Taiwan independence in its party platform, and favours a public referendum to decide the island's future.

In the latest move to show its worry about Taiwan's proposed referendum, Beijing sent two senior envoys to Washington last week in the hope of seeking understanding and co-operation from the US.

Chen Yunlin and Zhou Mingwei, the director and deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council respectively, reportedly told US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage that any referendum on the island is an unacceptable move that will lead to an eventual vote on independence.

Yu added that recent developments have demonstrated that Beijing has apparently gained growing support from Washington on its clear-cut stand on the referendum issue.

The United States has begun to voice strong disapproval of the Taiwanese move, both at official and non-official occasions, according to the researcher.

For instance, Armitage reportedly expressed US concerns over a possible crisis arising from the Taiwanese referendum plan while meeting Taiwan's "presidential secretary general" Chiou I-jen, who was on a US mission to explain the reasons behind the proposed plebiscite over the weekend.

Former US ambassador to China James Lilley also said on Sunday that he was worried a referendum may prevent Taiwan's economy from developing further.

Speaking at the launch of his new book in Taipei, he warned the island against going too far to provoke the Chinese mainland.

"All these US moves suggest that Washington has recognized the potential harm that may be brought about by Taiwan's referendum plan," said Li Jiaquan, another senior researcher with Yu's institute.

(HK Edition 07/29/2003 page1)

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