China blasts Taipei protests
Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN Senior China Analyst
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Pro-unification demonstrators turned out in force opposing a pro-independence campaign.
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HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Beijing has blasted a 100,000-strong weekend demonstration in Taiwan as a futile step in the direction of "creeping independence."
Tens of thousands of pro-independence activists took to the streets of Taipei on Saturday to call for the island's official name to be changed to Taiwan from the Republic of China.
A counter demonstraiton took place on Sunday, demanding the island's reunification with China.
However, the relatively low-key response from the cabinet-level Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) shows that the Chinese leadership will likely keep a low profile on cross-Straits issues at least until the island's presidential elections next March.
The Chinese official media on Monday quoted a TAO spokesman as saying: "There is no way out for Taiwan independence and the broad masses of Taiwan compatriots know right from wrong."
Saturday's demonstration was organized by former president Lee Teng-hui's Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), which is close to President Chen Shui-bian's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The protest came in the wake of a series of perceived provocations by Chen, including his reiteration last month that Taiwan and the mainland were "countries on either side" of the Taiwan Strait.
The Beijing leadership, however, has confined its reaction to statements issued by the TAO -- and no tough measures such as war games close to Taiwan have been planned.
Diplomatic sources in Beijing said the Chinese leadership feared that rattling the saber now might backfire -- and boost the re-election prospects of Chen.
Moreover, Beijing strategists have argued that the apparent strengthening of the radical TSU, which surprised observers by mobilizing 100,000 supporters from all over Taiwan to join the Taipei protests, may not help President Chen.
"To win the election, Chen has to appeal to the middle of the political spectrum, which treasures stability and economic progress," said a member of a Beijing-based national reunification think tank.
"The reinvigorated TSU, which is close to the DPP's radical wing, will only persuade voters that a ballot for Chen is a ballot for independence."
The latest opinion survey by Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council showed that 21.6% of Taiwanese were inclined toward independence.
However, 15.5% of Taiwan residents favored national reunification -- and most importantly, 51.5% wanted to preserve the status quo.
Chen's main antagonist, Chairman of the Kuomintang Lien Chan, has kept a low profile on the reunification issue.
Lien and his colleagues have decided to focus on the problematic economy -- and the commercial opportunities Taiwan businessmen can benefit from on the other side of the Taiwan Strait.
