Beijing, May 24: China today denounced Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's inaugural speech as a cloaked address on independence and said Beijing would spare no cost if he continued down the road to statehood. In his address on May 20, Chen ruled out any immediate steps toward independence and called for better ties with Beijing in a bid to placate China and key ally the United States.
While Washington welcomed his address, Chen appears to have failed miserably with Beijing. The two sides have been foes since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. "Although in his speech, he made no reference to the words 'one country on each side', the content of the whole speech was completely about Taiwan's status as an independent country," Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Zhang Mingqing told a news conference.

"The root of tensions in the Taiwan Strait has not been eliminated. The peril affecting peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region still exists," he said.
China would protect its territorial unity at any cost, including sacrificing the Olympic Games which it hosts in 2008.
"If Chen Shui-bian dares to challenge the people of the world, we will safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity at any cost," he said when asked if China would be willing to risk the Olympics over Taiwan.
The United States last week welcomed Chen's speech as "responsible and constructive" for avoiding an immediate showdown with China and added it created an opportunity for the two rivals to resume dialogue.
But China, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province that must be returned to the fold -- by force if necessary -- told Washington not to be deceived by the speech.
Zhang said there was no sign that Chen was willing to alter his course toward seeking an independent country.
"For such a faithless man, we do not care what he says. The key is what he does, which road he would choose," he said. Bureau Report