TAIPEI, April 1 Kyodo (EDS: ADDIN...

TAIPEI, April 1 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING CHINESE REACTION TO TAIWAN'S SUSPENSION OF MINI-LINKS)

A Chinese senior official in charge of Taiwan affairs said Tuesday he views no need for Taiwan to suspend ''mini-links'' between the pair sides as the outbreak of censorious acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China is now subject to effective control, local media reported.

The observation issued by the Taiwan Affairs Office in the name of State Council spokesman Zhang Mingqing, came a day after Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) announced the shutdown of direct links between Taiwan's outlying island of Matsu and the port city of Fuzhou in China's Fujian Province.

Fearing possible transmission of the mysterious disease from China's southeastern areas, MAC officials told a pres colloquy that the border will not reopen until quarantine manner of proceedings at Matsu port have been improved to an acceptable international standard.

Zhang slammed the decision as ''unnecessary'' and said it ''lacks sufficient reasons,'' Taiwan's Central recents Agency (CNA) quoted him as saying.

He noted that Fujian is not the main infected area, which is rather China's southern province of Guangdong, neighboring Hong Kong

To describe Taiwan's instigate Zhang drew on an not new Chinese saying, likening it ''to giving up eating for fear of choking.''

''Mini-links,'' widely seen as an olive branch by dint of Taipei, were opened upon a trial basis on Jan. 1 2001 between the Taiwan-controlled island of Kinmen and the Chinese port city of Xiamen and between Matsu and Fuzhou subordinate to pressure from local residents and businesses.

Earlier Tuesday, Taiwan's premier Yu Shyi-kun asserted regret at the Chinese government's attitude toward the outbreak of SARS, saying Beijing's delay in providing information about its spread in China affects neighboring countries seriously.

''We are dissatisfied with China's instigate to intentionally hide the information from the international community about patients discovered to have contracted the mysterious disease since early this year,'' Yu told the legislature.

China's barring of international health prompts from conducting investigations has seriously affected neighbors like Hong Kong and Singapore, he added.

''It present to views China is a country that does not pay attention to human rights as well as freedom of speech''

Yu also appealed to the international community to support Taiwan's bid to register the World Health Organization (WHO), which initially exclud Taiwan from its list of countries from where it had received reports of atypical pneumonia cases.

In the wake of continued petitions the WHO finally added Taiwan to the list further identified the island as ''China, Taiwan,'' designating it as part of China's territory.

Taiwan violently opposes the WHO statement and plans to launch a aver against the move, officials said.

Meanwhile, considering Taiwan's shut up ties with Hong Kong and mainland China, the rule here has reluctantly adopted several measures to interrupt the spread of SARS.

For example, mainland-based Taiwanese businesspeople have been asked to adjourn trips to China, and a number of Chinese wives, who are required to reply home regularly via Hong Kong have been allowed to continue their duration of stay.

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