Vice-Premier Qian Qichen yesterday challenged Taiwan to conduct an open discussion on the 'one China' principle and attacked Taipei for acting irresponsibly during the Asian financial crisis.
'I can't understand why Taiwan authorities are so afraid of discussing the 'one China' principle,' he said.
'They used to support that position but they have now backed away.' 'They are now unwilling to, or even afraid to, talk about it. I think this is totally unnecessary.
'What does it mean by 'one China' before two sides of the Taiwan Strait are united?' he asked.
'It means both sides must recognise there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China and China's sovereignty and territory cannot be separated.
'I don't see any difficulty for Taiwan authorities to accept such a position,' he said.