-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! China's Olympic plans worry officials 2008 GAMES: There is concern that Beijing will use the Olympics to promote a stronger sense of Chinese identity and weaken Taiwan's determination to remain sovereign By Lin Chieh-yu STAFF REPORTER Though some optimists believe the success of Beijing's bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games will bring seven years of peace and stability to the Taiwan Strait, national security officials remain wary. They caution that Beijing's winning of the Games presents Taiwan with long-term political challenges generated by growing Chinese nationalism and stronger de-mands for unification. "Beijing's success means that in the next seven years it will be easier for China to appeal to `the glory of the Chinese people' and step up its `united front' against Taiwan," a senior advisor at the National Security Council said."A negative direction would be for it to appeal to Taiwan's identification with `one China' and weaken the Taiwan people's determination on national sovereignty." Senior National Security Council advisor Changing views "One can foresee that the attitude of Taiwan society toward cross-strait relations will tilt toward the `one China' stance," said the advisor, who has analyzed the likely impact of the success of Beijing's bid on cross-strait relations. The analyst said that the council believes nationalism in China -- which has risen during the bid process -- will swell and develop even further in the next seven years and become the Chinese leaders' most powerful weapon. "The positive direction for China to move in would be toward political and social reform and consequently a reduction in cross-strait tension," the advisor said. "A negative direction would be for it to appeal to Taiwan's identification with `one China' and weaken the Taiwan people's determination on national sovereignty." Since President Chen Shui-bian (³¯¤ô«ó) came into office last year, national security and cross-strait affairs officials have been conducting a detailed analysis of the effects of Beijing's bid on cross-strait relations. According to the senior advisor, the officials all think that Beijing's bid has become a collective movement involving the Chinese diaspora worldwide -- all the more reason, they say, why Taiwan should keep cross-strait relations from becoming a target of Chinese nationalism. They have therefore argued that Chen should show his support for Beijing's bid to host the Games, but at the same time, remind the international community of the need to further integrate China into the world order as it prepares for the Games. Accordingly, Chen's supportive comments on this issue, during his recent trip to Latin America and in meetings with international visitors, have always been measured. Supportive "We would be happy to see Beijing hosting the Games. We also hope that China will be engaged in the world order accordingly, acting in the Olympic spirit and renouncing the use of force against Taiwan," Chen said. The National Security Coun-cil's analysis also indicates that although the Beijing Olympics may guarantee the Taiwan Strait seven years of security and stability, the possible side-effects of China's successful bid on Taiwan's politics and popular opinion are the real challenges facing Taiwan. "We cannot just have an assessment of military security for the next seven years. We also need a whole set of complete and well thought out political measures," a close aide to the president said yesterday. "The Mainland Affairs Council, among others, has warned that Taiwan should be supportive of China's participation in international activities, but we must not overestimate the Beijing Olympics' effect on peace and mistakenly believe that there will be an overall resolution of the cross-strait problems," the aide said. The aide stressed that the National Security Council is more concerned about whether, after China has hosted the Olympics, Chinese nationalism will direct the country toward freedom and democracy or become a force demanding more international clout. He also pointed out that most countries have been ambivalent about the growth of Chinese nationalism, worrying about the consequences if the phenomenon is not properly harnessed by social and political reform. History as a guide "History tells us that nationalism is a key factor in driving a political movement to extremes. A powerful example would be Hitler's Germany, in which nationalism swelled to such an extent after Germany hosted the Olympic Games that Hitler then started World War II," the aide said. "The international community must take into account the fact carefully that China is an emerging power under an authoritarian regime," the aide stressed. "Prior to 2008, we may keep the power at bay and even expect it to be engaged in the international order, but more importantly, after 2008, how are we going to deal with this awakened dragon with towering economic strength and rampant nationalism?" the aide asked. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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