U.S. steps up pressure on Taiwan to drop U.N. referendum

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The United States has stepped up pressure on Taiwan to drop its plan for a referendum on U.N. membership, branding it a worrying step towards formal independence from China.

"When it comes to this issue of a referendum as to whether or not Taiwan joins the United Nations in the name of Taiwan, we do have great concerns," Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said in an interview with Hong Kong's Phoenix TV.

"We oppose the notion of that kind of a referendum because we see that as a step towards a declaration of independence of Taiwan, towards an alteration of the status quo," he said, according to a transcript of Monday's interview.

Taiwan Foreign Minister James Huang called Negroponte's reading of the referendum "incorrect", the island's state-linked Central News Service reported on Tuesday.

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) plans to hold a referendum alongside presidential elections next March on whether the island should seek membership of the United Nations, ignoring warnings from ally Washington and rival Beijing.

China has seen self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as part of its territory rather than as a separate country since the island broke away from Mao Zedong's Communists after civil war in 1949.

For Washington, now increasingly engaged with Beijing on economic and regional security issues, the island is needlessly and dangerously provoking China by pressing for U.N. membership.

Repeated attempts by Taiwan to join the United Nations have failed in the past decade, but the DPP hopes the referendum will remind voters that the island's diplomatic isolation is due to what it regards as bullying by Beijing -- and that the opposition favors closer economic ties with China.

The United Nations, which ousted Taipei in favor of Beijing in 1971 under a "one China" policy, rejected the island's most recent bid last month. Taiwan stands virtually no chance as China is a veto-wielding permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

Negroponte called on Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, a key supporter of the referendum and of greater independence, to honor his "commitments" to maintaining the Taiwan-China status quo, including the island's current name, Republic of China.