China being provocative ignoring olive branches top Taiwan policymaker says

TAIPEI - China is being provocative with an extreme pressure campaign against Taiwan and is intentionally ignoring the islands olive branches and goodwill, its top China policy maker told Reuters, as Beijing ratchets up its tactics against Taipei.

China, which views Taiwan as its own territory despite the rejection of that position by the democratic and separately governed island, has stepped up military and political pressure on it, calling President Lai Ching-te a dangerous separatist.

Since Lai took office in May last year, China has held at least three rounds of major war games around Taiwan, while also threatening the death penalty for diehard supporters of its independence, and setting up hotlines to report such activity.

Mainland Affairs Council minister Chiu Chui-cheng said Beijing should own up to its responsibility for stoking tension by exerting extreme pressure which includes almost daily military incursions near Taiwan and public influence campaigns.

Its true that we dont see any sincerity from mainland China, Chiu said this week, speaking in his office in central Taipei.

He repeated the governments offer for talks with China based on equality and respect, but without Beijings political preconditions.

We have made a lot of effort and offered many olive branches, Chiu added.

We are a democratic country and it is impossible for us to accept your political premise of eliminating the Republic of China, belittling Taiwan or treating Taiwan as part of the Peoples Republic of China.

The defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedongs communists, and that remains the islands formal name. No peace treaty has ever been signed, and neither government recognises the other.

Asked on Wednesday about Taiwan saying it was showing goodwill towards China, a spokesperson for Chinas Taiwan Affairs Office said it