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Ample - stocks, shares, news, FTSE, online trading: "AFX UK Focus) 2004-08-15 12:49 GMT:
Taiwan VP Lu blames China for rising cross-strait tension - report

TAIPEI (AFX-ASIA) - Vice President Annette Lu said China should be blamed for rising cross-Strait tension because it was isolating the island in the international community and humiliating its leaders, it was reported.
'It's certainly not our fault at all to create the tension in the Strait. On the contrary, it's all the fault of Chinese leaders who continue to isolate Taiwan internationally, who continue to humiliate leaders of Taiwan and continue to increase military threats over Taiwan,' she said.
She urged world leaders to 'do something to prevent China from taking any irrational act against Taiwan' during an interview with the BBC broadcast yesterday.
'In fact, there is a war going on, psychologically, economically and politically. However, no one would be happy, no one would be benefit by having a war launched by either side,' she said.
Lu said Taipei will never create any trouble in the Taiwan Strait however 'one has every reason to suspect, to worry that they are (Beijing) going to launch a certain kind of threat to create instability in this area.'
She said the world should pay attention to cross-Strait issues because a confrontation in the Taiwan Strait could affect regional and even global stability.
Lu told the BBC planned constitutional reforms by President Chen Shui-bian had nothing to do with independence.
'We have been independent for decades; there's no need for us to make a formal declaration at all; just like persons; there's no need to declare 'I am a person'; that's a fact.'"