CHINA TAIWAN TENSIONS

July 23, 1999
		After this background report on the tensions between China and Taiwan, Elizabeth Farnsworth talks with Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa about Taiwan and the former colony's implementation of the one-country, two-systems policy.

July 23, 1999: Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa on Taiwan and the one-country, two-systems policy June 12, 1998: Anson Chan discusses Hong Kong's relationship with China. May 25, 1998: Martin Lee on Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement. Sept. 11, 1997: Pro-democracy activist Emily Lau criticizes Hong Kong's government. Sept. 10, 1997: A conversation with Hong Kong's chief executive. July 25, 1997: Hong Kong's housing crisis tests its relationship with China. July 21, 1997: Hundreds of Hong Kong's children try to stay in the city. July 3, 1997: Our correspondents in Hong Kong answer your questions about the handover and the territory's future. June 30, 1997: A panel discussion on the meaning of the Hong Kong handover. May 17, 1996: A discussion on U.S. - China relations March 26, 1996: Taiwan holds its first democratic elections. Browse the NewsHour's coverage of Asia.	SPENCER MICHELS: After three days of protests, the Chinese government yesterday banned a popular spiritual sect known as Falun Gong. Hundreds of demonstrators who lined the pavement near a government compound were arrested by police. The crackdown follow demonstrations that began last April, when more than 10,000 people gathered at the government leader's compound known as Jing Nanhai. Founded in 1992, Falun Gong bases its doctrines on martial arts, Buddhism, and Taoism. Many of its followers -- and there may be up to 70 million of them-- gather in parks to meditate and exercise. But such gatherings are now illegal in the eyes of the Chinese government, which views the sect as a threat to political order. The Chinese ban on the Falun Gong sect comes at a time when there is tension on another front. In Taipei, President Lee Tenghui has repeated several times in the past few weeks that Taiwan wants to deal with China on a special state-to-state basis. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province, not an independent state, and so those remarks angered the Chinese government, which interpreted them as a sign that Taiwan was moving closer to declaring independence. The sides split amid civil war in 1949, but China has always pushed for Taiwan's reunification with the mainland. China's defense minister said his military is ready to smash and attempts to separate the country. Tension in the region has been fluctuating up and down since Taiwan's first democratic election in 1996. The Taiwanese voted overwhelmingly for Lee, and since then, the president has been trying to expand Taiwan's ties with the rest of the world. This week, President Clinton reiterated his hope for a peaceful solution to the growing crisis.
	Restating the One China policy
	PRESIDENT CLINTON: I think the important thing is to let -- they need to take the time necessary to work this out between themselves in a peaceful way. That is clearly in both their interests. And I am still not entirely sure -- because I have read things which seem to resonate both ways on this -- exactly what the Lee statements were trying to convey, but I think that both sides are now quite aware of the fact that they need to find a way to pursue their destinies within the framework that we have followed these last several years. SPENCER MICHELS: That framework, the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, supports a one-China policy and has been the backbone for decades of U.S. dealings with China and with Taiwan. The act makes clear that the U.S. decision then to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China rested upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means. At the State Department yesterday, Spokesman Jamie Rubin discussed how the U.S. can try to defuse the situation. The first step, he said, was President Clinton's cancellation of a scheduled visit to Taiwan by Pentagon officials, because, Rubin said, it might excite one side or the other. JAMIE RUBIN: Obviously, at a time when the situation is as fluid as it is, we're measuring each of our steps very carefully-- not that we don't in normal times, but it seems particularly important to measure the impact and perceived impact of any step. SPENCER MICHELS: One model for Taiwan's future that is often discussed is the one-country, two-systems arrangement Hong Kong has had with China following the return of the former British colony to Chinese rule two years ago. Under the plan, for 50 years, Hong Kong's British-style legal system and freewheeling capitalism will remain separate from Mainland China's legal and economic institutions. In the last two years, the Hong Kong government headed by Tung Chee Hwa has retained a dynamic political culture, with frequent demonstrations and a mostly free press. But some changes have occurred. In a legal case, Beijing overruled Hong Kong's highest court, and in response to economic recession last year, the government intervened massively to prop up the stock market. JIM LEHRER: Hong Kong's chief executive was in San Francisco this week and spoke earlier today with Elizabeth Farnsworth.