The press in Taiwan has given a mixed reaction to the suggestion by President Chen Shui-bian that a referendum should be held on independence for Taiwan.

The Taiwan News called the remarks a "momentous policy statement" which, it says, accurately reflected Taiwan's official stance.

The statement, made in a speech to the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations in Tokyo, "serves to dispel the illusion entertained by some at home and many more abroad that cross-strait relations are inexorably moving in the direction of unification," the paper said.

He put an end to an era of ambiguity in cross-strait relations

Taipei Times

But the Chinese-language Chung-Kuo Shih-Pao attacked the remarks as "impetuous", and wondered if President Chen "fully weighed the consequences" before his "audacious and provocative" remarks.

Milestone

Another Chinese-language paper, Tzu-Yu Shih-Pao, saw the speech as a watershed.

An editorial called the speech "the most important milestone in cross-strait policy since former President Lee Teng-hui issued the two-states theory".

The Taipei Times agreed that the speech was "a clear statement of reality", saying it had "nothing to do with Taiwan moving towards independence".

"He simply put an end to an era of ambiguity in cross-strait relations in order to establish a foundation for negotiations on direct links," the paper said in an editorial.

The remarks will have already completely offset the little sympathy the Bush Government might have for Taiwan

Chung-Kuo Shih-Pao

But the paper went on to question the timing of the remarks given the importance to Taiwan of its relationship with Washington.

The paper warned that Washington "has a rather compelling set of other concerns right now, and it is hard to imagine that it would look happily on increased tension in the Strait."

Inappropriate

Chung-Kuo Shih-Pao also focused on the effect President Chen's remarks might have on ties with the USA.

It said President Chen's decision to make the remarks at an international conference will have "already completely offset the little sympathy and support which the Bush Government might have for Taiwan."

The paper highlighted increasing ties between the Bush administration and mainland China, with President Chen's request to visit Washington being refused time and time again.

It criticized the president and his aides for not informing the Bush administration of the content of the speech beforehand.

"It is only now that they have started to mend the fence after a sheep was lost," the paper comments.

It warned that as far as the USA is concerned, Taiwan must clearly explain this "derailing" remark and action in order to safeguard the stability in the Taiwan Strait.

The Taipei Times said the speech provoked "uproar" in mainland China, but dismissed that as "simply posturing".

Too much "foot-stomping, screaming and threats" from Beijing "will only incite unity and patriotism among the people of Taiwan," it concluded.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.