Peking presses Taiwan on reunification plan

Peking brushed aside Taiwan's curt rejection of its plan for joint rule of a reunified China and pressed Nationalist leaders to "think and do what our forerunners never dared." The reunification plan, Peking's most comprehensive peace offer to Taiwan to date, offered the Nationalists virtual autonomy is governing Taiwan and a role in governing a united China. Taiwan, as expected, denounced the proposal as "propaganda."

"This is essentially a continuation of their united front propaganda that contains nothing new," a Taiwan government spokesman said. Apparently anticipating the rejection, the official Xinhua news agency quoted appeals by former Nationalist officials now based in Peking for a Communist-Kuomintang coalition.