Taiwan's scrapping of unification body will bring disaster: China

China denounced the Taiwanese president's move to scrap an agency dedicated to uniting Taiwan with the communist mainland, saying it would be a disaster for the self-ruled island.

China on Tuesday denounced the Taiwanese president's move to scrap an agency dedicated to uniting Taiwan with the communist mainland, saying it would be a disaster for the self-ruled island.

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Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian "is determined to push 'Taiwan independence' to create antagonism and conflict within Taiwan and across the strait," the ruling Communist Party said in a statement. "It will only bring disaster to Taiwan society," the statement said.

Chen angered Beijing when he announced Monday that he was terminating the National Unification Council and doing away with its guidelines, which commit Taiwan to eventual unification with the mainland.

The two sides split during the civil war in 1949, but Beijing claims the democratic island across the Taiwan Strait as part of its territory and has threatened to attack if it moves toward formal independence.

The statement on Tuesday didn't include any threat of military action or say what sort of disaster Beijing was predicting for the island.

It also expressed concern for Taiwan's people and promised to push for a peaceful resolution to the dispute, but warned that its position was firm.