Two Chinas

On Feb. 27, President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan announced the "functional cessation" of the Unification Council, an office that had become largely symbolic. The move, however, could also have been interpreted as creeping step toward independence.

Beijing's response was notable in its restraint. Admiral William J. Fallon, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, said on March 7 that the Chinese army showed no unusual movements. On the same day, Lu Zhangong, the Communist party secretary of China's Fujian province, adjacent to Taiwan, said that scrapping the Council would not affect economic cooperation across the Strait.

But while Chinese officials appeared serene in public, they privately expressed concerns about Chen, as Roger Cliff and Toy Reid reported in an article, "Roiling the waters in the Taiwan Strait," that appeared on this page on March 21.

Beijing apparently wanted to pressure Washington into reining in Taipei. The tactic appeared to work: The Bush administration issued anxious statements and even sent an envoy to Taipei demanding "clarification" after Chen first indicated his intention in late January to abolish the Council.

Since then, Beijing has mounted at least six more moves to win the hearts and minds of Taiwan's people. That brought to at least 15 the number of such measures since Beijing passed the Anti-Secession Law in March 2005.

They include inviting Taiwanese farmers to sell fruit on Chinese markets, offering scholarships to Taiwanese students in China, providing loans to Taiwanese businessmen, relaxing regulations on Taiwanese professionals seeking work on the mainland and more.