China - Taiwan: Tensions Mounting

Keep an eye on this one! While the world is pre-occupied in the Middle East, expect China to make it's move.

International News Article | Reuters.com: "BEIJING (Reuters) - China's state media on Tuesday called Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's scrapping of a body on reunification 'provocative' and said the move marked a step toward independence that could endanger peace in the region.

Chen said on Monday the National Unification Council and 15-year-old symbolic guidelines on eventual unification had 'ceased to function', but he also said that did not mean the self-ruled island would push for formal independence.

'His further escalation of secessionist activities will no doubt stoke tensions and trigger a serious crisis in the Straits,' the state-run China Daily said in an editorial.

'Chen's risky and provocative actions also threaten to destroy peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region,' it said.

The comments echoed a statement by China's policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office published on Monday that warned that scrapping the body would spark crisis in the Taiwan Strait."