Beijing should not escalate tension over Taiwan.

In January a baby born at a Beijing hospital brought the population of China to 1.3 billion, a jump of 100 million people during the past decade alone.

China now boasts the world's seventh largest gross domestic product, and will soon pull ahead of Britain in that column. The average per-capita income of the Chinese people has risen to more than $1,000.

Beijing announced that this year's national defense spending will rise by 16 percent over the previous year, reaching roughly 3.2 trillion yen.

As this data bears outs, China is rapidly swelling in its population, economy and defense budget alike. As the world keeps close watch over these developments, the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, opened this year's annual session on Saturday.

Premier Wen Jiabao announced an economic growth target for 2005 of ``around 8 percent.'' While this represents a slowdown from 9.5 percent last year, a level prompting concerns that the economy had overheated, it still remains pretty high. At this pace of growth, apparently, China thinks it necessary to ratchet up household spending and create 9 million new jobs.

Wen also reported a sense of crisis and warning over the various social warps that have followed in the wake of this robust growth.

The most vexing problem is that of the widening gap between China's urban and rural areas. With heavy taxes levied on the increasingly disgruntled peasant class, arable land being expropriated without compensation by local governments for development and other moves afoot, riots and protests have broken out in many areas around the country.

The energy shortage is also acute. Power outages have increased, with conspicuous examples of factories being forced to cut operation hours. To cope with this situation, construction continues on a steady stream of coal-fired power plants, facilities for which no pollution countermeasures are in place. That would fuel a furious increase in coal output, further contaminating the air and the danger of mining accidents. Last year alone, more than 6,000 Chinese coalminers perished in such mishaps.

The current fashionable image of China is that of the bright and bustling centers of Shanghai, Beijing and other big cities. However, the stark realities behind the rise of China to become the ``world's factory'' tell a far different story.

At the People's Congress, Wen announced policies to reduce the tax burden on farmers, create an energy-efficient recycling-oriented society and other measures. To curb public discontent and stabilize the society, China must become more affluent. Attempts to put such words into action, however, bring various inconsistencies to a head.

The administration of President Hu Jintao has declared ``people-friendly politics,'' ``harmonious development'' and other benchmarks designed to respect the voices of the masses, but this will be no easy road to travel.

China's oil shortage is pushing up the price of crude. The possible revaluation of the Yuan is an issue of major concern to international markets. Chinese air pollution also impacts Japan. On these and other fronts, the question of how to stabilize Beijing's economy has become a problem for the world.

Another focus at this year's congress is the potential adoption of an ``anti-secession law'' on the Taiwan issue. Although the contents have yet to be announced, the legislation is designed to take a strong stand against independence for Taiwan, with the intent of containing the pro-autonomy movement on the island.

Yet, the results of Taiwan's legislative elections held late last year put a damper on any radical inclination toward independence, as voters indicated uncertainty about a rapid move toward sovereignty. Direct airline services between Taiwan and the mainland, meanwhile, were inaugurated during this year's celebration of the lunar New Year. Against this backdrop, there is concern that anti-secession legislation could hinder the budding resumption of dialogue between Beijing and Taipei.

We understand that the Taiwan problem is an issue of principle. However, considering the difficult problems that China is experiencing on its own social and economic fronts, there is nothing to be gained by escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 6(IHT/Asahi: March 7,2005)