-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! China Preparing Huge War Games in Taiwan Strait BEIJING, May 31 (AFP) - China's armed forces are preparing their biggestwar games in the Taiwan Strait since independence-leaning Taiwanese PresidentChen Shui-bian took office a year ago, state media said Thursday. "In order to warn Taiwan's new leaders and the leaders of the US governmentnot to play with fire on the question of Taiwan, the top mainland leadershipdecided to hold large-scale exercises aimed at Taiwan," the official Qianlongwebsite said. The joint exercises between China's army, air force and navy are expectedto take place in June near Dongshan Island off the coast of the southeasternprovince of Fujian and are codenamed "Liberation Number One," it said. The report said the main aim of the exercises was to show how Chineseforces would inflict heavy casualties on any foreign planes or ships thatinvade China's coastal waters. A guided-missile brigade, two tank brigades, marines, submarines andChina's Russian-made Sukhoi SU-27s will be used in the exercises, it said. Dongshan Island, which lies some 150 nautical miles east of Taiwan's PenghuIslands, hosted large-scale beach landing exercises in 1996 during the Taiwanmissile crisis when China tested-fired missiles over the island. The upcoming exercises are aimed at showing China's growing impatience withChen for refusing to recognize its "One China" principle, which enshrinesChina's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan. They are also being held after US President George W. Bush approved amulti-billion dollar weapons package for Taiwan in late April. Taiwan has been ruled separately from mainland China since nationalistforces fled to the island following their defeat by the communists in 1949following a long civil war. China has since considered Taiwan a renegade province that must be broughtback under its rule, by military force if necessary. The article on the Qinlong website, which is run by the Beijing Daily andother official newspapers, echoed reports in the Hong Kong press earlier thisweek which said the exercises would include some 10,000 soldiers. Taiwan's defense ministry last week played down the significance of thedrills, calling the exercises "routine" and asking the public not to panic. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
