China is again rattling its sabers over Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui's recent statement that Taiwan will henceforth conduct its relations with China as "a special state-to-state relationship."
Lee rejects the "one China" principle that has long been the basis of the relationship, and under which China considers itself the central government and Taiwan "a renegade province."
Lee and the overwhelming majority of the people he represents want "a separate existence" from China. They resent China's continuing hostile policy of isolating and containing Taiwan internationally and bullying it militarily. They want respect for Taiwan now that the island has become a democracy, a vibrant free-market economy and the 14th-biggest trader in the world.