NEWS- China to attack if Taipei ref

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Subject: NEWS- China to attack if Taipei refuses to drop statehood claim

TAIWAN - Report: China to attack if Taipei refuses to drop statehood
claim

HONG KONG (AP) -- Beijing has decided to use military force against
Taiwan if Taipei refuses to abandon President Lee Teng-hui's recent
declaration of statehood, a Hong Kong newspaper reported Wednesday.

The South China Morning Post said the Chinese were considering an
"appropriate degree of force," but the only option mentioned was the
invasion
and temporary occupation of an outlying island held by Taipei.

The newspaper, citing unidentified Beijing sources, said Chinese leaders
are
split over the timing, with hard-liners favoring military action soon
after Oct.
1,
China's National Day, while moderates prefer waiting until Taiwan's
presidential elections next March.

The moderates argued that Beijing should only take action if the new
president
refuses to back down from Lee's declaration that Beijing must deal with
Taiwan on a "state-to-state" basis, the report said.

Top Chinese leaders agreed on the battle plan at the top-level, closed
door
meetings at the seaside resort of Beidaihe, where Beijing leaders
converge
every summer to make important decisions, the Post said.

President Jiang Zemin, Premier Zhu Rongji and Central Military Committee
Chairman Chi Haotian usually attend these meetings, but their presence
could
not be independently confirmed. The meetings conclude later this week.

Tensions between China and Taiwan have risen to a three-year high since
Lee's declaration last month, which was seen by Beijing as a major step
toward formal independence for the island.

China views Taiwan as a renegade province and says it will use military
force
if Taiwan ever seeks formal independence. The two sides split
politically in a
1949 civil war.

Military activity has heightened over the Taiwan Strait separating
Taiwan and
mainland China since Lee's remarks.

Lee and his deputies have stood by his statehood claims despite military
pressure from Beijing and political pressure from Washington.

The Post said that the Chinese leadership has agreed that several top
Chinese
government units, including the Central Military Commission and the
Leading
Group on Taiwan, have been granted authority to determine the timing and
severity of military action.