Taiwan's President Steps Up Tension With Beijing

President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan announced the island's first referendum yesterday in a move likely to infuriate Beijing and suck the United States into the growing dispute with the Chinese mainland.

The call for a national vote on missile deployment appeared timed to overshadow the first visit to Washington by a senior member of the new leadership in Beijing.

Wen Jiabao, the Chinese prime minister, set off yesterday on a four-day American tour which is expected to be dominated by a growing Sino-US trade row and the escalating war of words over Taiwan.

In recent weeks, Mr Chen has ratcheted up tension with provocative statements, a high-profile visit to the US, and tentative moves towards independence for the island, which Beijing regards as a rogue province.

Yesterday, Taiwan's leader said he would call a referendum on March 20 - the same day as a presidential election that will decide whether he stays in power. Voters will be asked whether they want Beijing to remove the thousands of missiles now aimed across the Taiwan strait.

"Taiwan will hold its first ever anti-missile, anti-war defensive referendum," Mr Chen said at a campaign rally in the northern city of Hsinchu. "We want to let the world know that Taiwanese love peace and democracy and don't want to send our children to war."

China is opposed to any referendum, which it sees as setting a precedent for a national vote on independence.

Analysts believe that the steps are a risky ploy by Mr Chen to win re-election.

In the 2000 election campaign, Mr Chen swept into power on a wave of nationalism after goading Beijing into a threatening stance. His predecessor, Lee Teng-hui, used similar tactics to win the presidency in 1996, when the crisis reached the point where China test-fired missiles near the island and the US sent two aircraft carriers to the region.

Beijing's new rulers, who came to power in a Communist party transition earlier this year, have been unable to resist sabre-rattling this time.

Last month, they restated a threat to use force if necessary to halt Taiwan's march towards independence.

Mr Wen will ask President George Bush to exert US influence over the island. China's state-run media said the Taiwan question would top the agenda for the US talks.

Beijing wants a clear statement from the US that it "opposes" independence. Until now, officials from the Bush administration have said only that they "do not support" independence and are opposed to any unilateral change in the status quo.

If the US position is to change, China may have to give ground on the trade dispute, which has been prompted by a record $120bn (£70bn) Chinese surplus with the US.