Scholars on the Chinese mainland have condemned a series of "de-sinicizing" moves recently adopted by the Taiwan authorities in an apparent push for secession.

Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian announced on Feb. 8 that the authorities would remove the words "China" or "Chinese" from the island's government-run organizations and enterprises, and from certain laws and regulations.

Under the scheme, the names "Chunghwa (meaning China) Post Co." and "Chinese Petroleum Corp" (CPC) will be changed to "Taiwan Post Co." and "CPC Corporation, Taiwan".

Xu Shiquan, vice chairman of the National Society of Taiwan Studies, told Xinhua that by changing the names, Taiwan authorities were trying to prepare an "atmosphere" for its "independence" conspiracy.

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wanted to take the chance to divert public attention from Chen and his wife's corruption cases, and to deepen the antagonism between different political groups, Xu said.

Taiwan opposition parties Kuomintang and the People First Party (PFP) have both lambasted the moves, saying they boiled down to pointless political manipulation and would only serve to confuse the public and harm Taiwan's investment environment.

Guo Zhenyuan, a research fellow of the China Institute for International Studies, said that recent polls conducted on the island found that most Taiwan residents opposed the name changes, which would actually intensify existing social conflicts and affect the peace and stability of cross-Strait relations.

According to a survey conducted by TVBS, a local Taiwan TV station, only 21 percent of Taiwan citizens agreed with the name changes, while 55 percent expressed disapproval.

Sun Shengliang, a Taiwan expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Xinhua that the name changes were an attempt to cut Taiwan's cultural and historical links to the mainland.

Last month, Taiwan authorities adopted a resolution that requires the island's National Palace Museum to remove all the labels that identify exhibits as being from the Chinese mainland. The move triggered widespread criticism from both mainland and Taiwan scholars.

Source: Xinhua