PRESIDENT Jiang Zemin has introduced a new concept to the psychological warfare over Taiwan: the island's push for independence is a serious contributor to regional, even global, instability.
A diplomatic source in Tokyo said the Jiang party had told its Japanese hosts that supporting Taiwanese independence was tantamount to supporting regional instability, even warfare.
The source said the mainland thought this was a more effective argument than the evocation of the ideal of Chinese unity in persuading Japanese politicians to dissociate themselves from the Kuomintang-ruled island.
'The Chinese have told Tokyo that given the inflammatory nature of the Taiwan independence movement and Beijing's determination to stop it by using force if necessary, whoever supports Taiwan independence is contributing to regional instability,' the source said.
This new approach was pursued by Mr Jiang in his speech to about 1,000 guests and students at Waseda University yesterday morning.
'The use of whatever means to fabricate 'two Chinas', 'one China, one Taiwan' and 'Taiwan independence' will necessarily result in a tense situation in the region and jeopardise the peace and stability of Asia and the world,' he said.
