China condemns scrapping of Taiwan unification body

China condemns scrapping of Taiwan unification body
Tue Feb 28, 2006 5:23 AM GMT

BEIJING (Reuters) - China condemned Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian on Tuesday for scrapping a council that advised on eventual unification, calling it a malicious provocation creating further tension in one of Asia's most dangerous flashpoints.

But a joint statement issued by the Communist Party's Central Office for Taiwan Affairs and the cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office stopped short of threatening war against the self-ruled island, which Beijing has claimed since their split at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

On Monday, Chen declared an end to the National Unification Council and its 15-year-old unification guidelines, defying warnings from Beijing and Washington, the island's main arms supplier and trading partner.