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China says Japan's missile system may trigger arms race

REUTERS , BEIJING

China told Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba yesterday that Tokyo's planned missile system could tilt the military balance in the region and trigger an arms race, a Japanese official said.

Many Chinese are suspicious about Japan, given its militarist past. Japan occupied parts of China from 1931 to 1945, during which time the two sides fought an eight-year war.

Ishiba is visiting Beijing to try to alleviate Beijing's concerns over Japanese efforts to boost its defense capabilities.

"On the issue of missile defense, Ishiba said the Chinese side stated there was a danger of changing the [military] balance and also the danger of [an] arms race," the official said after Ishiba met his Chinese counterpart, Cao Gangchuan, in Beijing.

The official declined to give further details.

Japan's Defense Ministry last month requested over US$1 billion in funding for a US-made missile defense system to protect the country from any North Korean missile attack.

Japan has conducted joint research with Washington on developing a missile defense system since Pyongyang test-fired a missile over Japan in 1998.

WHO brings SARS system to China

SURVEILLANCE: SARS killed 349 people in China, but the WHO hopes an early-warning system will mean doctors are better prepared for any possible return

AP , BEIJING

The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to test a new SARS surveillance system next week in the Chinese provinces that were hardest hit by the disease, a spokeswoman said yesterday.

Health specialists want such surveillance in place in case SARS, which ebbed in June after its worldwide outbreak, makes a return in coming months

In testing the system now, the WHO hopes to see China detecting more suspected SARS cases -- even if those cases don't prove to be the disease -- under the belief that many false alarms, as opposed to few or none, show better medical vigilance.

WHO officials in Beijing have said they were concerned that China, unlike other affected countries, has had very few false alarms.

The trial will involve between 10 and 14 hospitals in Guangdong, Shanxi, Hebei and Beijing -- areas that were hit hardest by the recent outbreak -- said WHO spokeswoman Maria Cheng.

"We need to have this in place just to be absolutely sure that if SARS comes back in the winter, as some people suspect it will, we will be ready," said Cheng, who is based in Beijing.

SARS emerged from China's southern province of Guangdong in November and killed 349 people in the country, more than half of them in the capital, Beijing. Another 5,300 people were infected before the flu-like illness ebbed in June. Worldwide, it killed more than 900 people.

Researchers have warned that SARS could re-emerge when cold weather returns. Scares involving SARS-like cases have already been reported in Canada and Hong Kong, the hardest-hit places outside of China and Taiwan.

The new surveillance system will require medical workers to be more specific in questioning people with SARS-like symptoms, and will push for better handling of information.

"We'd rather have false reporting and rumors than not hear anything at all. It's always better to over-report than underreport," Cheng said.

The new WHO system, crafted with the help of Chinese health officials, will be tested for four weeks, Cheng said. It will undergo a weeklong review in Beijing before recommendations are presented to the national Ministry of Health.

WHO hopes the system will be in place around the country by the end of October, she said.

Officials from WHO have also suggested that the Chinese government appoint someone to investigate s rumors, Cheng said.

The organization has heard of some suspected cases in a Beijing hospital but has not been able to verify the rumors, she said, adding that a letter was sent to officials the Health Ministry asking them to look into it.

In the last two weeks, the ministry has repeatedly refused to respond to reporters' queries about potential cases and measures taken to prevent a new wave of infections.

Taiwan: the KMT's biggest enemy

Two interesting things happened on Tuesday. A group of Taiwanese students who had studied abroad called a press conference to urge the public to take the question of their international status seriously. When asked where they were from, they would initially reply the "Republic of China," some of the students said of their experiences abroad. But this answer frequently caused confusion about the difference between the ROC and the People's Republic of China (PRC). Others said their schools insisted on identifying them as being from "Taiwan (Province of China)," which couldn't be further from the truth.

The students called on the Taiwanese public to bravely face up to their identity issue instead of evading it. Otherwise, confusion about Taiwan's international status will only increase, they said.

Also on Tuesday, the KMT's legislative caucus accused the DPP of using the "Call Taiwan Taiwan" street demonstration scheduled for Saturday to push for Taiwan independence and annihilate the ROC.

KMT caucus leader Lee Chia-chin accused the DPP and TSU supporters of not recognizing themselves as ROC citizens even though they live on ROC land, "just like a kid who doesn't recognize his own mother." Lee Chuan-chiao, another KMT lawmaker, said the DPP had been secretly supporting the TSU in organizing the demonstration. Changing the country's name is immoral, Lee Chuan-chiao said, and those who do it will become the "sinners of history."

But the KMT has little credibility in criticizing the Call Taiwan Taiwan movement as it is the KMT, above everyone else, that needs a name change. Remember, they call themselves the "Chinese Kuomintang". The name gives you an impression that it is some underground party from China or a front for the Chinese Communist Party.

The plight of the students is demonstrative of the anxiety of Taiwanese people about long-running uncertainty regarding their international status. But if the Taiwanese themselves are unwilling to face up to the question of their own international status, and if the political parties continue to use policies aimed at keeping the public ignorant and to evade issues with specious pseudo-logic, then how can we hope the international community to clearly distinguish between Taiwan and China?

The KMT-PFP alliance is exactly the kind of political force that likes to confuse the issue of identity. It rejects the name "Taiwan" and holds on to the political fiction called "ROC."

People who understand the cross-strait situation know that the so called "ROC" died in 1949. The KMT fled to Taiwan with its battered army, lorded over the country with the Chiang dynasty and only when Lee Teng-hui came to power was a democratic political framework established and Taiwan was transformed into a normal country.

But there was a limit to what Lee could do as an individual. Cultivating public wisdom is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Even though the DPP wants to continue pushing for the democratic engineering project that Lee did not finish, the KMT-PFP has played a reactionary role in recent years, attacking Lee and President Chen Shui-bian. Obviously the word "Taiwan" is their biggest enemy.

We all know that the key members of the KMT and the PFP are relatives or proteges of past KMT political heavyweights. Their blood relationships and personal interests are bound to the past feudal forces represented by the KMT. In opposing reform, democratization and the Taiwanese identity, they also echo the mindset of the Chinese authorities across the Strait.

Apparently we have a long way to go in cultivating wisdom among the Taiwanese public.

Name-change forces take fight to streets

ON THE MARCH: Supporters will gather in front of the the Presidential Office to hear Lee Teng-hui speak about why this country should be officially called Taiwan

By Chang Yun-Ping

STAFF REPORTER

A march on Saturday to campaign for changing the name of the country from the Republic of China (ROC) to Taiwan will attract 100,000 people, organizers forecast yesterday.

The Alliance to Campaign for Rectifying the Name of Taiwan said that supporters of 113 domestic and overseas groups will join a rally in front of the Presidential Office to raise public awareness that "Taiwan" should be used as the name for the country instead of "ROC" which is often confused with the People's Republic of China.

The organization said that groups from the US, Japan, Argentina, Paraguay, Costa Rica and Australia would attend the rally.

Wang Hsieh-chi, chief organizer of the event who briefed Lee on Tuesday night, said: "Former president Lee appeared in good condition, and he promised that he would join the rally as scheduled."

However, for the sake of Lee's health, "we have arranged for Lee to walk just a small portion of the procession and have him rest before he delivers the speech," Wang said.

Leading members of the campaign yesterday took the opportunity to again express why they feel the country's name needs changing.

Ng Chiao-tong, one of the national conveners of the campaign, said: "The campaign drive does not represent any political party or individual. It is a common interest of all Taiwanese people that we want our nation's name corrected. We hope all Taiwanese will stand behind this campaign."

DPP lawmaker Trong Chai, a seasoned activist for Taiwan's independence, said: "If Taiwan keeps muddling along for five more years without taking steps to achieve independent sovereignty, Taiwan will be swallowed by China.

"Rectifying the nation's name from ROC to Taiwan is a step toward building the country of Taiwan," Chai said.

In addition to private groups, the DPP and TSU will mobilize around 50,000 supporters to join the rally.

DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan said the party would give its full support to the campaign. He said the DPP had long promoted Taiwan as an independent sovereign state.

"Based on the principle of `one country on each side' of the Taiwan Strait, the DPP will actively mobilize its supporters to fully participate in the campaign," Lee said.

The TSU will also hold its second anniversary celebrations on Saturday at the 228 Memorial Party, after which Chairman Huang Chu-wen will lead TSU supporters in the march.

`For one thing, Hakka people are conservative and tough-minded people who value loyalty and virtue.'

With regard to the recent controversy surrounding the "President Pig," President Chen Shui-bian, a native son of Taiwan as well as the son of a Hakka family, announced at the Yimin Temple in Hsinchu that Hakka people have sacrificed divine pigs for more than 100 years and that no other group can tarnish the Hakka tradition.

Chen also pointed out that anyone can make comments about him, but no one can insult and defame "our Hakka culture."

Chen's divine pig not only offended many "politically correct" groups but also gave the pan-blue camp a chance to severely criticize Chen. Without doubt, Chen's support for Hakka culture this time won general acceptance and applause from Hakka groups. However, I am still doubtful about Hakka votes for Chen in the next presidential election.

As a Hakka from Miaoli, I strongly support and promote democratization in Taiwan. Therefore, I actively participate in and support tang wai ("outside the party") activities as well as those DPP activities that challenge the KMT.

Chen's electoral victory in 2000 leading to a political transition and DPP takeover is the most unforgettable, proudest event in history and in our lifetime. However, many Hakka votes in Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Miaoli poured in to the pan-blue camp that advocates unification. The Hakka people's pessimistic, resistant attitude toward Chen, the pan-green camp, and local Taiwanese consciousness makes us deeply concerned at heart and puzzled.

As the next presidential election approaches, Chen has worked hard to carry out his promises by setting up Hakka television stations, establishing Hakka schools, and promoting the Hakka culture. However, we feel that the Hakka people have remained unmoved and that votes for Chen are still nowhere to be unseen.

For one thing, Hakka people are conservative and tough-minded people who value loyalty and virtue. They also cherish the culture of the central plains in China. Like many "New Taiwanese" mainlanders who arrived in Taiwan around the end of the World War II, the Hakka people are a minority group in Taiwan and feel that they are sojourners.

Second, because of their fear and enmity toward the majority of Hoklo people, the Hakka people are willing to align with the "New Taiwanese" and challenge the Hoklo people.

Many Hakka people think that the DPP is a party for the Hoklo people, because DPP officials always use the Hoklo language in their activities. Because they do not understand the Hoklo language, many Hakka people -- particularly those in Miaoli -- feel that they are treated with indifference and discrimination. As a result, they find it difficult to be assimilated into the local culture.

Of course, this view is not entirely true. Hsu Hsin-liang, Chang Teh-ming and Chiou Lien-hui are the founding fathers of the DPP.

The DPP also has a lot of support from renowned Hakka writers such as Chung Chao-cheng and Lee Chiao.

However, since the DPP's establishment 17 years ago, it is clear that most Hakka people have not accepted, supported or participated in the DPP all along.

First, power contention is one reason why Hsu left the DPP. Second, his policy of moving westward to China runs counter to the DPP's guiding principle of Taiwanese independence.

The views of Hsu, Fan and Wu Poh-hsiung, who reject the ideas of Taiwanese consciousness and independence, are the mainstream political beliefs among Hakka groups in Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli.

Many Hakka people in Taiwan are not willing to face and admit to this mind-set tied to unification, but there is no doubt that their mindset has a profound impact on the workings of politics and society.

This explains why we see disunity among Hakka people, who are unable to be assimilated into the general Taiwanese culture, accept the idea of Taiwanese independence or support the pan-green camp's candidates such as A-bian and Uncle A-hui (former president Lee Teng-hui) with a Hakka background.

This is the main reason why the Hakka people become the diehard supporters of Lien Chan, James Soong, and the pan-blue camp.

If they cannot break away from a few things -- their dream about the central plains; their "guest" mentality of always seeking refuge from calamities, their objection to the sovereignty of Taiwan; their failure to see that Taiwan has no future in an authoritarian China; and their failure to acknowledge China's military threats against Taiwan -- and if they cannot unite with the Hoklo people, who have a 70 percent majority in Taiwan's population, to build the gemeinschaft of destiny, take root in Taiwan and work hard for a democratic Taiwan, the Hakka people will forever be the sojourners excluded from the mainstream of Taiwan instead of becoming their own masters in the nation's democratic politics.

If so, it will be a tragedy for the Hakka people. I am proud to be a Hakka, and therefore I severely criticize the Hakka people in Taiwan.

Chiou Chwei-liang is a visiting professor at the Graduate Institute of Southeast Asia Studies, Tamkang University.