CHINA yesterday reiterated its desire of reunification with Taiwan but at the same time escalated its propaganda war against President Lee Teng-hui to a new height for his alleged advocacy for ''Taiwan separatism''.
Top Chinese leaders, including the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference chairman Li Ruihuan, called on all ''patriots'' in Taiwan to speed up reunification with the motherland.
Mr Li, who is also a Standing Committee member of the Communist Party Politburo, gave a new definition of ''patriotism''.
''[Whoever] supports reunification is a patriot,'' Mr Li was quoted by official media as saying.
''Under the principle of 'one China', [we] can bridge the differences across the Taiwan Strait through contacts and negotiations.'' Speaking on the 70th anniversary of the Whampao Military Academy, Mr Li reiterated that Beijing would only agree to unity with Taiwan under the ''one-country-two-systems'' principle.
Taipei has dismissed the ''one-country-two-systems'' principle, claiming the idea was a strategy by Beijing to dwarf the status of Taiwan.