The Chinese Communist government in Beijing is fond of beating its breast about supposed U.S. interference in China's "internal affairs," but it apparently has no such compunctions itself. Thus the remarkable fax from the mainland Chinese government to governor Bill Owens of Colorado in mid-August.
Owens, who had welcomed Chinese premier Zhu Rongji to Denver during Zhu's spring 1999 American tour, was about to play host to Stephen Si-Fang Chen, the equivalent of Taiwan's ambassador to the United States. According to the account in the Denver Post, the Chinese consulate in Chicago faxed this protest to the governor: "It is the strong demand of the Chinese consulate general that meetings between governor Owens and high officials from Taiwan should not be arranged. We do not want to see that such improper arrangements damage the friendly relationship between the State of Colorado and China."
Owens went ahead with his meeting as planned, saying he called Beijing's vice consul in Chicago to let him know that "if he worried about his calendar, I'll worry about mine."