Taiwan Party Asserts Island's Separate Identity

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan's ruling party passed a resolution yesterday asserting the island's separate identity and calling for a referendum on its sovereignty, but the party failed to put any real force behind it, apparently out of fear of provoking rival China.

The resolution — passed after a heated debate at a boisterous party congress — was the latest in a series of steps taken in the waning months of President Chen's final term aimed at strengthening Taiwan's de facto independence, without pushing Beijing so far that it could respond militarily.