China's state media called Taiwan's President, Mr Chen Shui-bian, a troublemaker today and said he was bringing disaster to the island.
"Chen, as a troublemaker in international society, damages the fundamental interests of Taiwan compatriots and brings disaster to Taiwan," the official Xinhua news agency quoted an article expected to run tomorrow in a key Communist Party newspaper as saying.
The comments came as the island's legislature voted on a controversial referendum bill. "The referendum plan on a 'new constitution' will not be tolerated by the Chinese people, including the compatriots in Taiwan," the article said.
Xinhua published a summary of the article while the parliament in Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province, voted on whether it should have the right to hold referendums.
China has condemned the bill as a step towards a declaration of independence and said it would "make a strong response" if the law passed without restrictions.
The Guangming Dailyarticle, written by a history scholar, pointed to various agreements at the end of World War II as proof of Beijing's assertion that Taiwan belongs to China, Xinhua said.
Beijing and Taipei split at the end of a civil war in 1949.
