BEIJING (AP) -- China's military, adding its weight to a tide of official outrage targeting Taiwan's vice president-elect, warned Saturday that the "abyss of war" awaits the island if it declares independence.
The commentary in the Liberation Army Daily topped a week of vitriolic rhetoric aimed at Annette Lu by China's state-run media, which labeled her "scum of the nation," a lunatic and traitor for reportedly telling Hong Kong media that Taiwanese are distant relatives or neighbors of the mainland Chinese, rather than close family.Beijing says Taiwan is part of China and that its people are Chinese. The two sides split amid civil war in 1949 and Beijing says they are destined to reunify, by force if necessary.
China has threatened to attack if Taiwan declares independence, formalizing the de facto independence it has enjoyed for the past half-century.
The Liberation Army Daily, the main newspaper of the 2.5-million member Chinese military, said Lu was "going farther and farther down the road of 'Taiwan independence,"' and called her "blinded by lust for gain."
"Taiwan independence means war," the newspaper thundered. "Whoever ignores this important information from us and remains bent on having their own way will push Taiwan into the abyss of war, bringing disaster on the Taiwanese people."
Lu and President-elect Chen Shui-bian, who won Taiwan's March 18 election, belong to the Democratic Progressive Party, which favors independence for Taiwan.
Beijing had threatened war if Taiwan voted for pro-independence candidates. While Beijing has won U.S. praise for its restraint since the election, many Chinese say they are frustrated that their government has taken no action.
Beijing says it is waiting to see what Chen does after he takes office May 20. It has urged him to recognize that China and Taiwan are part of one country, saying talks between the sides that Taiwan desires can begin if he does so.
Meanwhile, newspapers in Hong Kong quoted a Beijing spokesman as saying a Chinese official's warning to Hong Kong media to avoid mentioning Taiwanese independence was "completely appropriate."
Wang Fengchao, deputy director of China's liaison office in Hong Kong, outraged journalists, legislators and activists Wednesday when he told the media not to advocate independence for Taiwan or report views on the issue that diverge from Beijing's official line.
A report in the Hong Kong Standard said Beijing backed the official's stance.
The comments were "completely appropriate" and "continue to represent Central Government policy," a spokesman from the Hong Kong affairs office of China's State Council reportedly said.
Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Beijing promised the territory's free press would remain intact as part of a guarantee that the territory could keep its laws and lifestyle for at least 50 years.
The Hong Kong media often cover issues that may not be reported or would be very sensitive in mainland China's entirely state-controlled media.