Published by World Tibet Network News - Tuesday, March 25, 1997

TAIPEI, March 25 (AFP) - Taiwan leaders pressed ahead with plans to meet the Dalai Lama on Wednesday turning a deaf ear to vocal protests from China accusing them of trying to fool Beijing and world opinion.

Vice President Lien Chan is to meet with the exiled Tibetan leader late Wednesday, a cabinet official confirmed Tuesday, ahead of President Lee Teng-hui's meeting with the Dalai Lama on Thursday.

But China Tuesday unleashed a volley of accusations against both the Dalai Lama and the leaders on the island, which it has considered a renegade province since nationalist forces were driven here by the communists in 1949 after a bitter civil war.

"The Dalai Lama says on one side that he does not want independence, but on the other side he continues his separatist threats," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Cui Tiankai said.

"He says this to trick international opinion and he lacks sincerity because he has never abandoned his aim of independence," he told a scheduled media briefing.

His comments came in reply to an offer by the Dalai Lama on Monday to hold talks on the future of Tibet, stressing that he was not seeking independence.

Earlier Tuesday, China's top negotiating body on Taiwan warned that reunification talks suspended in mid-1995 could not resume unless Taipei stopped entertaining people like the Dalai Lama and halted all "splittist" activities.

"Officials on Taiwan and its so-called President Lee Teng-hui first have to abandon their splittist activities before dialogue can begin," said Tang Shubei, vice chairman of the semi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait.

But Lee hit back saying that Beijing was purposely "smearing" his name. "Of course we are seeking national reunification, but we cannot acknowledge that we are a province of communist China and we insist there is only China, which is the Republic of China," he told a group of deputies.

"We must insist on the sovereignty of the Republic of China (Taiwan's official name) as an independent nation ... given the fact that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are separately governed," Lee added.

Meanwhile, the Buddhist leader, unruffled, continued his six-day tour of the island which started on Saturday speaking at a Catholic university, preaching at a mass prayer meeting and addressing a youth gathering.

The Dalai Lama has sought since his arrival on Saturday, along with Taiwan leaders, to highlight the religious rather than political significance of his visit.

But analysts have warned Thursday's meeting is loaded with political overtones.

Professor Chang Lin-cheng, political science professor at National Taiwan University, said Lee was "walking on a high wire" by deciding to meet the Tibetan leader to discuss religion and spirituality.

"No matter what they talk about, the meeting in itself is highly political," she said.

"I really worry about negative consequences in relations with China, although it might not show immediately," Chang added.

China has reacted sharply to any moves seen to be promoting independence for the island, and suspended the talks to protest a visit to the United States by Lee. It then launched six rounds of wargames in the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan military authorities said Tuesday they had not seen any unusual activity, after a report here that the Chinese army was planning to hold war games in southeast China next month. The report was later denied by the Chinese defence ministry.

Meanwhile, the Taiwanese government reacted cautiously to the Dalai Lama's proposal to open an office on the island to facilitate bilateral cultural and religious exchanges.

Foreign Minister John Chang told the press that "it would be one thing if such an office was purely meant to spread the Tibetan sects of Buddhism."

But he swiftly added that "it would be another thing if it was to represent the Tibetan government in exile."

On Tuesday the Dalai Lama called for young people not to rush into marriage and led a prayer meeting of 18,000 people. He also directly addressed young people's concerns on the arms race, over-population and the depletion of the ozone layer.