| China warship { March 26 2002 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://webcenter.newssearch.netscape.com/aolns_display.adp?key=200203260009000180061_aolns.srchttp://webcenter.newssearch.netscape.com/aolns_display.adp?key=200203260009000180061_aolns.src
Tuesday, March 26, 2002
China Bars U.S. Ship From Hong Kong
HONG KONG (AP) - Apparently angered over U.S. dealings with Taiwan, China has refused permission for a U.S. warship to make a routine port call in Hong Kong.
The U.S. Consulate said Tuesday that Beijing's rejection of the request by the USS Curtis Wilbur came March 18 - one day before the Chinese government accused Washington of committing a ``series of erroneous acts'' in the weeks since President Bush's visit in February to China.
Beijing was angered by a U.S. decision to let Taiwan's defense minister, Tang Yiau-ming, attend a private defense convention this month in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador Clark T. Randt to express its displeasure.
Barbara Zigli, a U.S. Consulate spokeswoman, said ``no reason was given for the disapproval.'' She declined to speculate on China's motives.
The Curtis Wilbur, a guided missile destroyer belonging to the U.S. Seventh Fleet based in Yokosuka, Japan, had sought clearance to visit here from April 5-9, Zigli said.
Port calls by foreign warships and aircraft are approved on a ``case-by-case basis,'' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Tuesday at a regular briefing for reporters. ``We have taken into consideration a lot of issues,'' Zhang said.
Last week, Zhang warned of adverse effects on China-U.S. relations if Washington did not change its ways.
China and Taiwan split amid a civil war on the mainland in 1949. Beijing says it will attack Taiwan if the island declares formal independence or delays too long in talks over uniting with the mainland. It has sought to isolate Taiwan diplomatically.
America severed formal ties with Taiwan in 1979 when Washington recognized China. Since then, high-level exchanges and meetings between U.S. and Taiwanese officials have been rare.
Tang's attendance at the three-day conference in Florida - sponsored by the private U.S.-Taiwan Business Council - is the most recent result of Bush's push for closer relations with Taiwan.
Since this former British colony reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, Beijing has occasionally protested U.S. actions by barring U.S. warships from visiting Hong Kong, long a popular port of call.
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