Referendum OK before law: Chen

By Lin Chieh-yu

STAFF REPORTER , WITH CNA

President Chen Shui-bian yesterday said that would not be necessary to pass a referendum law before initiating a reform of the Constitution by referendum.

"Not all countries draw up a law before putting a referendum into practice," he said, "Therefore, many countries often leave it to a people's referendum to decide whether to pass or amend a constitution."

"It is very clear that it is not necessary for such practices to be based on the legislation of a referendum law," he said.

He made the comments when he met academics and other experts from the US, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden who are in Taipei for the three-day International Symposium and Roundtable on Initiatives, Referendums and Direct Democracy.

Chen reiterated to his guests his determination to launch a campaign to draft a new constitution that fits the needs of the people by 2006.

He said that a referendum is the most direct example of democracy and has become a part of life in Western countries.

In Taiwan, however, he said referendums have become a taboo issue and the subject of polarizing debate.

"Taiwan accomplished its first ever political rotation in 2000 and built the foundation for democracy more than 200 years after that of the US," Chen said, "We cherish what we have and our next step is to aggressively push for a referendum and to deepen our democracy."

"We know that the power of the nation comes from the people," he said, before noting that one of the academics at the forum had argued that if a legislature recognizes that the legislation for a referendum law is necessary but postpones passage of such a law, the people have the right to decide by referendum whether they want a referendum law and what kind of law they want.

"The people's right to referendums is above the legislation of representative democracy," he said.

Chen said that a referendum is an exercise in direct democracy and it can be supplement insufficiencies in a representative democracy.

"Referendum is a global value and a basic human right," he said, "People should not be deprived of it or be constrained from getting it."

However, most members of the Central Election Commission believe that if a national referendum is to be held alongside next year's presidential election, a legal basis for the referendum would be desirable, according to the commission's chairman.

Huang Shih-cheng made the comment at the Legislative Yuan yesterday after lawmakers asked about the Democratic Progressive Party's proposal to hold a nationwide referendum together with March 20 election.

The commission needs a legal basis to budget for and carry out a referendum, Huang said.

When asked whether it would be illegal for the commission to hold a referendum without a legal basis, Huang declined to answer.

"We won't do anything illegally," he said.

KMT wants to sue Chen for libel

ACCUSATIONS: The Chinese Nationalist Party wants to take the president to court for claiming that it has been accepting secret aid from across the Strait

By Huang Tai-lin

STAFF REPORTER , WITH CNA

"Starting from today, the party will set up a legal panel which will, day by day, record all Mr. Chen Shui-bian's inappropriate and illegal remarks."－Alex Tsai, KMT spokesman

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that the party would file charges against President Chen Shui-bian next May for slander.

Chen told The Washington Post last week that both the KMT and its political ally, the People First Party (PFP), have been receiving "clandestine assistance" from Beijing, which does not want to see Chen get re-elected in the presidential election next March.

"We will take legal action against Chen for his slanderous remarks against the party," said KMT spokesman Alex Tsai at a press conference held to address the issue.

KMT Chairman Lien Chan and his PFP counterpart James Soong are on a joint ticket challenging Chen's re-election bid.

Claiming that Chen's remarks were a calumny against the party, Tsai said that "starting from today, the party will set up a legal panel which will, day by day, record all Mr. Chen Shui-bian's inappropriate and illegal remarks."

"We will then gather them all and press charges [against Chen] on May 20 next year," he said.

May 20, 2004, will be the inauguration day for the nation's 11th president. Since the president enjoys executive immunity from prosecution during his term of office, the KMT has to wait until that term ends.

Tsai was also assuming that the pro-China parties would defeat Chen's re-election bid next March.

Meanwhile, Tsai Chao-ming, director of the National Security Bureau, yesterday was quoted as saying no evidence has been found to prove that the "pan-blue alliance" has received secret assistance from Beijing.

"So far the government has not found any precise or explicit evidence proving that Beijing has been assisting the pan-blue alliance for any purpose," the bureau director was quoted by PFP Legislator Lu Hsiu-yen as saying in a closed-door meeting at the Legislative Yuan's National Defense Committee.

Tsai Chao-ming made the remarks in response to questions raised by opposition lawmakers.

According to Lu, the director was also asked by opposition legislators whether DPP Legislator Chen Chung-hsin, who is the convener of the National Defense Committee, is an "emissary" across the Taiwan Strait as he travels to and from China frequently.

The opposition lawmakers also asked him whether there was any truth to recent reports that some China-based Taiwanese business people have been "controlled" in one way or another by Beijing to be used as "political tools."

The bureau director described the allegations as "electioneering rhetoric."

Two years ago US academic Bonnie Glaser riled the KMT when she wrote in an academic paper "Scores of KMT delegations visiting China in the past year have urged Beijing to avoid opening a dialogue with Chen that might strengthen [Chen's] position and increase his chances of re-election, Chinese analysts say. Instead, the KMT urges Chinese leaders to await the return of their party to power, promising that the KMT will pursue a cross-strait policy that is more amenable to Beijing."

Shed no tears over lost ally

With the severing of diplomatic relations with Liberia, the number of Taiwan's diplomatic allies has fallen to 26. To take political responsibility, Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien has tendered his resignation. This is a responsible action by a political appointee, but Chien does not really need to step down over the issue. On the contrary, it was a big relief for Taiwan to bid farewell to Liberia.

Liberia has been notorious for its endless civil wars, which have made the country one of the poorest in the world. Former president Charles Taylor earned international condemnation with his human rights abuses and brutal suppression of dissent. In 2001, the UN passed a resolution imposing sanctions on the country. In response to calls from the Liberian people, the US has sent troops there and forced Taylor to leave the country. From abroad, however, Taylor continues to wield influence on Liberian politics.

Taiwan's diplomatic predicament leaves little room for the country to be picky about with whom it wants to make friends. But a disreputable friend like the Taylor government has been an embarrassment for a country that claims to attach importance to human rights. Taiwan knew that Taylor's government ignored its people's welfare and trampled on human rights, that the country's economy was a shambles and that bureaucratic corruption was rampant. But diplomatic ties prevented Taiwan from condemning Liberia. Instead, Taiwan had to support such a government. In the face of international criticism regarding its double standards on human rights, Taiwan could only stay quiet. Liberia's departure frees Taiwan from a huge burden.

In a broader context, the severance of ties with Liberia was driven by international factors that Taiwan can hardly reverse. Like Macedonia, Liberia has been facing civil war and needs to rely on UN resources and peacekeeping forces. Using its power as a permanent member of the Security Council, China has pressured Liberia to switch diplomatic relations, and Liberia has obliged, for the sake of peacekeeping troops and US$250 million in aid. All this was not due to any lapse or mistake on the part of Taiwan's foreign affairs authorities. They have done their best. Chien does not need to resign.

Ostensibly, China has won another diplomatic ally and further isolated Taiwan. In reality, however, the Taiwanese public's perceptions of the ROC's diplomatic fortunes have been changing ever since former president Lee Teng-hui made the assertion that the ROC no longer exists and pointed out that Taiwan will only shackle itself by clinging to its ROC baggage.

China has been low-key about establishing diplomatic ties with Liberia, apparently loathe to agitate Taiwan. But knowledgeable people in Taiwan have already woken up to the fact that the more China tries to squeeze the ROC's diplomatic space, the more Taiwanese people will realize that the ROC no longer exists in the international community. This will see more people supporting the movements promoting a name change for the ROC and a new constitution. Perhaps many Taiwanese will thank China for helping to cut diplomatic ties with Liberia.