No promises on cross-strait talk: DPP

ONE COUNTRY?: The DPP has denied speculation that the secretary general to the president promised the US that Taiwan would never again use the fractious formula

By Lin Chieh-yu

STAFF REPORTER

"If President Chen, as the president of the Republic of China, cannot talk about the Republic of China and `one country on each side of the Strait,' what can he talk about?"－Chen Chung-hsin, DPP legislator

Secretary General to the President Chiou I-jen did not promise the US government that President Chen shui-bian would stop using his "one country on each side of the Strait" dictum, said DPP Legislator Chen Chung-hsin, who went with Chiou to Washington last month.

"When Chiou I-jen visited the US, he explained Taiwan's stance to the US government," said Chen Chung-hsin, who is also the head of the DPP's China Affairs Department. "Not once did he promise the US not to talk about `one country on each side of the Strait.'"

Talks between Taipei and Washington are normally confidential. However, Chen Chung-hsin said he had decided speak out because of growing speculation over Chiou's discussions with top US officials, including US Deputy Secretary of the State Richard Armitage.

Local media reported at the beginning of the month that Armitage, in an interview in Washington with a Hong Kong cable channel on July 31, said Chiou had promised US officials President Chen would not use the dictum again.

Chen Chung-hsin said that, according to the text of Armitage's interview, provided by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), Armitage did not mention the dictum and that the only time the word "promise" was mentioned was in a question by the Hong Kong reporter.

According to the transcript provided by the AIT, Armitage answered that the contents of the talks needed to remain confidential.

"Do our reporters speak better English than Armitage?" Chen Chung-hsin asked.

"The other side of the Strait is called the People's Republic of China, and we are called the Republic of China. Neither side can demand the disappearance of the other," Chen Chung-hsin said.

"`One country on each side of the Strait' is a plain statement of the facts. If President Chen, as the president of the Republic of China, cannot talk about the Republic of China and `one country on each side of the Strait,' what can he talk about?" he said.

President Chen first aired the dictum on Aug. 3 last year while addressing via videoconference the 29th Annual Meeting of the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations in Tokyo.

He stressed that Taiwan must go its own way to create a road for its future, explaining that Taiwan's own road meant "democracy, freedom, human rights and peace."

Opposition parties criticized President Chen's dictum as an attempt to succeed former president Lee Teng-hui's "special state-to-state" dictum made in 1999. Critics believe that President Chen's dictum will worsen the cross-strait situation.

However, the president recently reaffirmed the dictum, saying that the main theme of next year's presidential election will be the choice for voters between "one China" and "one country on each side."

Communist spies from China alive and kicking

By Paul Lin

There have been numerous spy cases recently. China is clearly trying to expand its struggle against its enemies, so the credibility of its spy accusations is immaterial. Apparently, Beijing's accusations were made to weaken those of Taipei and Washington, as if to say, "Look, all three of our nations are engaged in covert activities to gather information, so we are not so different after all."

It's believed that the Chinese spy cases uncovered over the past few years were just the tip of the iceberg. These cases are particularly different from those in other countries because they involve the unification and independence ideologies over the issue of national identity. Some may leak confidential information to China due to the dispute over different political ideologies.

In light of frequent contacts across the Taiwan Strait, how can anyone be sure that none of those who travel across the Strait is a spy -- especially those retired military and intelligence agents? Plus, the China-based Taiwanese businesspeople, China's visiting delegations to Taiwan, as well as legal and illegal Chinese immigrants, all travel across the Strait. Although we should not accuse them all, we should never overlook possible security factors.

Perhaps it will be viewed as a joke if someone mentions a slogan from the past: "Be careful! Communist spies are around you." But the percentage of spies is absolutely higher than that during the two Chiangs' era. As a result, it's necessary for us to promote the above slogan again, so people will not lose their vigilance. Taiwan failed to urge its people to remain vigilant after the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion was abolished. This was indeed a mistake of the naive KMT government.

In terms of the most recent spy case of Yeh Yu-chen -- a Taiwanese businessman in Taoyuan who allegedly spied for China -- the case may involve significant security matters of Taiwan and the US. Unfortunately, the media has revealed many details in order to cause a sensation. This is inappropriate, because other parties involved may flee to China right away. Agencies should never arbitrarily reveal the progress of an investigation.

US Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller recently told US Congress that the number of foreign spies currently in the US is unprecedented. The FBI has listed China as the biggest intelligence threat to the US in the next 10 to 15 years. The American people often view the outside world with a kind heart, and they are not vigilant about spies -- especially Chinese spies who are good at smooth talking and playing tricks.

China's intelligence-gathering methods are different from those of other countries, as it often appeals to patriotism to gradually collect information, calling on people of Chinese origin worldwide to provide various confidential information about every walk of life. Such a "people's intelligence war" is a headache for Washington: it may suffer if it ignores this. But too much attention may be criticized as racial discrimination. China is particularly good at using overseas Taiwanese and Chinese people to avoid the US government's attention. Some spy activities in the US were conducted by either overseas Taiwanese or Chinese-Indonesian people.

Washington's allies, such as Israel, have also sent intelligence agents to collect confidential information in the US. But their ultimate goals are the same, and the competition is not a life-or-death situation. However, the intelligence war between China and the US or Taiwan is fierce due to their divergent ideologies. Only when China begins its democratization can this spy war be resolved.

Paul Lin is a political commentator based in New York.

TSU says KMT-PFP stonewalling poses significant danger to national security

CNA , TAIPEI

The TSU legislative caucus slammed the pan-blue alliance yesterday for stonewalling the passage of a "national loyalty check" bill.

Worse still, the TSU caucus said the KMT and PFP pushed for amending the Civil Servant Employment Law last year to delete the provision requiring loyalty checks for all government employees.

The TSU caucus claimed that the pan-blue alliance's moves have created holes in the nation's security system and left room for agents from China to infiltrate Taiwan.

The TSU caucus was responding to its KMT and PFP counterparts' recent criticism of National Security Council Secretary-General Kang Ning-hsiang for employing a person with alleged business interests in China to serve as his personal aide.

The alliance said Kang's employment of Chang Pei-chen to provide counseling in Chinese economic affairs could lead to the leaking of classified information to Beijing authorities.

Chang, who had devoted herself to research on the Chinese economy for 20 years at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research before she joined the council on April 1, resigned from her council post last Saturday.

Her resignation came after a local newspaper reported that her husband had used her name to set up a company in Hong Kong which cooperated with the business arm of China's Ministry of Railways in operating land development deals in Shanghai.

TSU legislative whip Chien Lin Huei-jyun said at a news conference yesterday that Chang's case, as well as the alleged involvement of a middle-rank technician at the military-run Chung Shan Institute of Technology and Science in a ring that spied for China, have exposed problems in the nation's security system.

Chien Lin said the pan-blue alliance is to blame for the loose security checks conducted on civil servants.

She pointed out that the TSU came up with a host of draft bills in May last year with a view to tightening the protection of military intelligence and other national secrets.

However, Chien Lin said, the KMT and the PFP had boycotted screening of these bills. She said the two parties had stonewalled the transfer of the national loyalty bill to the legislature's Judiciary Committee for deliberation 17 times.

Without the enactment of this bill, Chien Lin said, government agencies cannot conduct stringent loyalty checks on would-be civil servants.

Chiang dynasty a political ruse

Recently, a fourth-generation descendant of Chiang Kai-shek was born in Taiwan. People and some media loyal to the Chiang family have hyped up the event as if a restoration to power by the Chiang family is imminent. Turning a blind eye to Taiwan's many years of democratization, they have tried to fill people's brains with exaggerated fantasies about the Chiang dynasty's magnificence. The reports are ludicrous in the extreme.

Of course, political motivations are behind such a laughable media phenomenon. Facing the "one country on each side" dictum advocated by President Chen Shui-bian, the KMT and the PFP know very well that the Taiwanese public have rejected their "one China" policy. Short of a counter-strategy, the blue camp has no choice but to raise the divine image of Chiang Ching-kuo to resist the DPP's offensive. Now, coincidentally, the Chiang family has a newborn child. Why not put a spin on Chiang Ching-kuo's grandchild and blur the unification-independence issue so that the blue camp won't have to clarify their stance.

The people of Taiwan must not allow themselves to be cheated. The unification-independence issue involves the lives and welfare of our future generations. Naturally, it will be one of the core issues in next year's presidential election. The KMT-PFP candidates must not be allowed to fudge their answers on such an important question. They should, with a responsible attitude toward Taiwan's electorate, clarify the difference between their "one China" or "one country" policy and Beijing's "one country, two systems" policy. They need to persuade people that their cross-strait policies are more in the interests of the majority than are the DPP's policies -- instead of trying to lead the public into a blind nostalgia for the greatness of Chiang Ching-kuo.

PFP Chairman James Soong once said that Taiwan would join the World Health Organization within two years if he is elected. He needs to explain how and under what conditions he plans to do so, so that the people of Taiwan may better judge his political platform. Not only the KMT and the PFP, but the DPP and all other parties must also clearly explain their platforms to the electorate. For example, the DPP should explain what exactly it means by "one country on each side," as well as the risks of that policy.

We suggest that the KMT-PFP candidates give serious thought to Chen's "one country on each side" platform and come up with a smarter alternative, instead of holding on to the "one China" policy and using the myths of historical figures to blur the core issues of the presidential election. The hype over Chiang's grandson is basically an attempt to cheat the Taiwanese electorate. The blue camp should spell out its cross-strait policy and clarify what exactly is meant by a "one-China roof." They should also bring out their policy blue-print for improving the economy so that voters may compare it with the DPP's. Instead of indulging in a war of words, they should allow the people of Taiwan to make the most rational choice in next year's election.

The unemployment rate is now over 5 percent and the economy has been slow to recover. Under such circumstances, the KMT-PFP camp does have a good chance to win political power. Even so, what the Taiwanese electorate needs is an election oriented toward policies for the country's future development, not an election bogged down in vicious mud-slinging or wild campaign promises. The electorate indeed has the responsibility to monitor the campaign and make the March election a standard for newly arising democracies around the world.

Shooting season

Chairman of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association Alex Hogg and his springer spaniel named Teal prepare for the start of ``The Glorious Twelfth'' shooting season on the Moorfoots Hills in Peebleshire on Sunday. August 12 is the traditional opening date of the shooting season when purple-clad moors echo to the sound of soaring grouse, tweed clad shooters and clamoring beaters. Beaters walk in front of the shooters beating drums to spook the fowl from the bush.