Week of February 25, 1999

SUMMARY:Early this week, China issued an official white paper ultimatum warning Taiwan it would use force to unify Taiwan with the mainland if reunification talks continue to be delayed. Previously, the Chinese military claimed it would only use force in three scenarios; if Taiwan declared independence, an invasion of a foreign power or internal chaos. T his additional warning coincides with Taiwan’s upcoming March 18th Presidential elections.

Taipei has maintained it would enter talks with Beijing only if Taiwan is treated as an equal and China undergoes political reform. Although the latter condition has been rejected by China, the white paper appeared to agree with the former condition.

All the Presidential candidates reacted to the ultimatum by stating they would not be deterred by the new threat and reiterated their belief that Taiwan is a sovereign state separate from Beijing.

SUMMARY:A week of trade negotiations between Chinese and European Union(EU) trade officials ended without the two sides reaching a final agreement on China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Chinese officials expressed that significant progress had been made between the two sides. However, EU representatives were not as positive, noting that there is still much work to be done. The EU is most interested in securing beneficial terms on telecommunications, insurance, and financial services before finalizing talks with China.

The U.S. Congress is waiting for China to conclude WTO talks with its most significant trade partners before voting on whether to grant China permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status. Granting PNTR to China will enact the trade agreement signed last November. Inconclusive EU-China talks will most likely make proponents of congressional support for PNTR anxious. Many analysts view that a further delay in securing agreement with China will inflame the debate in the United States over PNTR.

The EU is the most significant of the 13 countries that China still needs to secure agreements with before it joins the WTO.

SUMMARY: Earlier this week, the Office of the State Council released a 15,000 white paper entitled "Fifty Years of Progress on China’s Human Rights." The paper includes achievements in the rights to subsistence and development; social and cultural rights; political and civil rights; and the rights of women, children, and minorities. It also looks forward to the prospect for human rights development in China in the 21st century. An Amnesty International news release criticized the white paper for its failure to mention issues such as China’s crackdown on dissidents and repressive legislation that may lead to arbitrary detentions and unfair

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The U.S. and China This Week

uscpf@uscpf.org

Last updated: 3 March 2000