THWACK! China slaps Colin Powell around but good! (Rate this story!)

[displacedtexan]

Mods,
I put this here because I'm sure this Powell trip was politically motivated!




Not looking too happy there, Has Been!


China Rejects Powell Call for Dialogue with Taiwan


By Benjamin Kang Lim and Alice Hung

BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) - China rejected on Wednesday Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites)'s call to resume dialogue with Taipei, saying Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's overtures were meaningless and no grounds existed for talks.

Powell urged Chinese leaders on Monday to be "open minded" and renew dialogue with Taiwan, suspended in 1999 after then Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui redefined bilateral relations as "special state to state."

"It does not matter who calls for the resumption of peace talks, the problem is not with us," said Zhang Mingqing, a spokesman for the policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office.

"If they are fake olive branches, it doesn't matter if it's 30 or 30,000, it's meaningless," Zhang told a news conference when asked to comment on the fact that Chen has extended an olive branch 30 times to China since he was first elected in 2000.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=nm/china_taiwan_dc