Step toward sovereignty?

Taipei

Taiwanese legislators last week passed a bill allowing a referendum on whether the island should declare itself officially sovereign and separate from mainland China. To mitigate the expected Chinese outrage, the legislature made the bill milder than initially drafted, adding numerous conditions that must be met before a referendum can be called. But President Chen Shui-bian said he planned to invoke the clause that says a “defensive referendum” can be held in the event of a foreign attack. He argued that Taiwan is effectively under attack already, because China has nearly 500 ballistic missiles pointed its way. China called the move toward a referendum “deceitful and dangerous,” and the U.S. urged Taiwan not to take any steps to change the island’s status.

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