(AFP)
President Chen Shui-bian has reiterated his belief that Taiwan is independent from China and said he plans to press ahead with a referendum on constitutional reform, positions that will anger Beijing.
"Taiwan is an independent sovereign country," Chen said in an interview with the BBC posted on the broadcaster's website.
China sees Taiwan, which split from the mainland in 1949 at the end of a civil war, as a province awaiting reunification.
It has threatened to reunify with the island by force under various circumstances, including if it declares independence.
Beijing lashed out at Chen Tuesday for making similar comments to the Washington Post.
Chen said the March 20 election, at which he narrowly won a second four-year term, showed his belief was shared by the people of Taiwan.
"As we can see from the election this time, even the opposition parties cannot oppose the mainstream value, the will of the people, (who) oppose unification of the two sides and insist on Taiwan being an independent sovereign country," he said.
Taiwan had rejected the "One Country, Two Systems" formula that China has adopted for Hong Kong, a former British colony returned to China in 1997, he said.
"The majority of Taiwan people cannot accept Taiwan becoming a second Hong Kong, nor can we accept Taiwan becoming a local government of the People's Republic of China or a Special Administrative Region of China," Chen told the BBC.
He repeated his determination to put constitutional reform to a direct referendum, brushing off the failure of Taiwan's first referendum held alongside the presidential vote.
The widely criticized two-question referendum on relations with China failed because fewer than 50 percent of eligible voters took part.
Chen blamed the failure on "the intimidation and threat from China", opposition sabotage and the voting procedure.
Among the changes he said he wanted to the constitution were the inclusion of basic human and indigenous rights, lowering the voting age to 18 and the replacement of the current compulsory military service with voluntary military service.
Chen also again rejected claims by the opposition, led by the Kuomintang (KMT), that an attempt on his life on the eve of the vote had been rigged to swing a neck-and-neck election race.
Chen and his Vice President Annette Lu were lightly wounded when they were shot while campaigning in an open-topped vehicle. The attacker has not been arrested.
Suspicions about the shooting and allegations of voting malpractice led to mass demonstrations that culminated in a Saturday night rally of half-a-million people outside the presidential offices in Taipei.
The opposition filed a lawsuit against Chen and Lu late Monday, demanding a vote recount and nullification of the disputed elections.
Chen said: "We have never rigged the vote nor have I attempted to stage any kind of incident in trying to solicit more support."
"Even though there is turmoil after the election. Even though there was this shooting incident. I regard these as minor episodes and small ripples on our long quest to democracy," he said.
President Chen Shui-bian has reiterated his belief that Taiwan is independent from China and said he plans to press ahead with a referendum on constitutional reform, positions that will anger Beijing.
"Taiwan is an independent sovereign country," Chen said in an interview with the BBC posted on the broadcaster's website.
China sees Taiwan, which split from the mainland in 1949 at the end of a civil war, as a province awaiting reunification.
It has threatened to reunify with the island by force under various circumstances, including if it declares independence.
Beijing lashed out at Chen Tuesday for making similar comments to the Washington Post.
Chen said the March 20 election, at which he narrowly won a second four-year term, showed his belief was shared by the people of Taiwan.
"As we can see from the election this time, even the opposition parties cannot oppose the mainstream value, the will of the people, (who) oppose unification of the two sides and insist on Taiwan being an independent sovereign country," he said.
Taiwan had rejected the "One Country, Two Systems" formula that China has adopted for Hong Kong, a former British colony returned to China in 1997, he said.
"The majority of Taiwan people cannot accept Taiwan becoming a second Hong Kong, nor can we accept Taiwan becoming a local government of the People's Republic of China or a Special Administrative Region of China," Chen told the BBC.
He repeated his determination to put constitutional reform to a direct referendum, brushing off the failure of Taiwan's first referendum held alongside the presidential vote.
The widely criticized two-question referendum on relations with China failed because fewer than 50 percent of eligible voters took part.
Chen blamed the failure on "the intimidation and threat from China", opposition sabotage and the voting procedure.
Among the changes he said he wanted to the constitution were the inclusion of basic human and indigenous rights, lowering the voting age to 18 and the replacement of the current compulsory military service with voluntary military service.
Chen also again rejected claims by the opposition, led by the Kuomintang (KMT), that an attempt on his life on the eve of the vote had been rigged to swing a neck-and-neck election race.
Chen and his Vice President Annette Lu were lightly wounded when they were shot while campaigning in an open-topped vehicle. The attacker has not been arrested.
Suspicions about the shooting and allegations of voting malpractice led to mass demonstrations that culminated in a Saturday night rally of half-a-million people outside the presidential offices in Taipei.
The opposition filed a lawsuit against Chen and Lu late Monday, demanding a vote recount and nullification of the disputed elections.
Chen said: "We have never rigged the vote nor have I attempted to stage any kind of incident in trying to solicit more support."
"Even though there is turmoil after the election. Even though there was this shooting incident. I regard these as minor episodes and small ripples on our long quest to democracy," he said.
