YOU ARE HERE: LAT HomeCollections  Blustery Winds in Taiwan
Strait  March 08, 2005  When last we looked in on the Chinese
and Taiwanese, the president of the island was hinting at
independence and provoking the mainland. As we rejoin the
rhetoric in progress, it's the mainland talking tough about
Taiwan, restating its position that the island is part of China
-- although they split during the 1949 civil war -- and warning
outside nations to butt out. Both sides would be better off
cooling the hawkish language.  The latest heat comes from an
anti-secession law expected to be passed at the current meeting
of China's rubber-stamp legislature, the National People's
Congress. The Chinese say it simply repeats Beijing's policy
that there is only one China and that Taiwan is a part. The
Taiwanese say it is an attempt to provide a legal framework for
a Chinese invasion of the island to reunite the two.  The
dispute understandably makes outsiders, especially the United
States, nervous. President Bush has promised to d