China snubs APEC-talks delegation

COLD SHOULDER: One Taiwanese official said the refusal to meet at the conference was a swipe at President Chen's call for a new constitution in 2006

By Huang Tai-lin

STAFF REPORTER , IN BANGKOK

"By refusing to hold ministerial bilateral meetings with the Taiwanese delegation, China is attempting to sideline the legitimacy of Taiwanese authority."－Parris Chang, DPP lawmaker

China's APEC delegation has delivered an apparent snub to President Chen Shui-bian's push for a new constitution by refusing to meet with its Taiwanese counterpart.

The move is in sharp contrast to last year's conference when a ministerial bilateral meeting was held between China's Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Shi Guangsheng and Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu.

Speculation was rife yesterday that this year's snub is a criticism of Chen's plan to write a new constitution in 2006, the 20th anniversary of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Chen's proposal drew flak from the pro-unification Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP), which lambasted the proposal as an attempt to move toward independence.

A member of the Taiwanese delegation, who wished to remain anonymous, said that China's refusal to hold a ministerial bilateral meeting with the Taiwanese this year was a result of Chinese President Hu Jintao's wish to keep a low profile.

This attitude had led the Chinese government to proceed conservatively, especially in sensitive cross-strait issues, the official said.

DPP Legislator Parris Chang, who is the only lawmaker from Taiwan accompanying the delegation, said he didn't think China's refusal had much to do with Chen's constitution call.

"Rather, it is the Chinese authority's approach to Taiwan -- in view of Taiwan's upcoming presidential election next year -- that it wants to downplay all possible contact with the DPP administration.

"By refusing to hold ministerial bilateral meetings with the Taiwanese delegation, China is attempting to sideline the legitimacy of Taiwanese authority," he said.

Chang, however, said that China's APEC snub would only end up helping Chen's re-election bid next year.

KMT Chairman Lien Chan is teaming up with his PFP counterpart James Soong to challenge Chen in March's elections.

"By continuing to obstruct or boycott Taiwan, China will only prove to the Taiwanese public that Chen's remark about China is true," Chang said, alluding to statements made by Chen earlier this month in an interview with the Washington Post.

Chen told the newspaper that Beijing had been giving "clandestine assistance" to both the KMT and the PFP.

Chang said, "China has yet to realize that its disrespectful treatment of Taiwan will only ended up irking the Taiwanese public more."

Lee seeks talks with Chinese leader

GOOD START: After receiving a warm welcome to the APEC meeting, special emissary Lee Yuan-tseh said he hopes to talk about some important matters with Hu Jintao

By Huang Tai-lin

STAFF REPORTER , IN BANGKOK

Lee Yuan-tseh, President Chen Shui-bian's special emissary to APEC, says he wants to speak with Chinese President Hu Jintao about cross-strait issues.

"When I have the opportunity to talk to Hu, I may first congratulate him on the launch of China's first space flight a couple days ago," said Lee, referring to China's first manned space flight launched last Wednesday. The flight made China only the third nation, after the former Soviet Union and the US, to put a man into space.

"And if I have more time, I may talk about cross-strait issues with him and I hope that both sides of the Taiwan Strait will sit down and talk, so that misunderstandings or controversies such as the 1992 consensus can be dealt with. And then we can talk about issues of mutual concern," Lee said.

Lee made the remarks at a press conference held at Queen Sirikit Convention Center a few hours after his arrival here yesterday.

The press conference, packed with foreign and Taiwanese media, was conducted in both English and Chinese Mandarin.

Lee was asked to compare Hu with with China's former president, Jiang Zemin, with whom who Lee had a brief interchange during last year's APEC meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Lee, noting that Hu is younger than him while Chiang was older than him, said that he had "personally witnessed the transition from the older generation to the younger generation."

Noting that he has not yet met with Hu in person but only learned about him from media coverage, Lee said that he look forward to having a chance to meet with Hu and said he was hopeful.

"When you meet different people you have different expectations, and this year I wish that new expectation will perhaps create new opportunities," Lee said.

"And I do hope that Chairman Hu and President Chen will have the opportunity to meet with each other to talk about cross-strait issues in the future," Lee added.

Stressing that misunderstandings are the results of a lack of exchanges and dialogue, Lee also called on Beijing to open dialogue with Taipei.

Lee also said that if he had a chance to meet with US. President George W. Bush, "I may first of all convey to him greetings from President Chen and then we may discuss East Asia's economic development. Depending on the situation, if we have more time, we may talk more about trade with the US."

Lee said that Chen did not give him any specific or concrete directions on how to deal with items being discussed during the forum.

"[The president] fully trusts our delegation and the decisions can be made by our delegation," Lee said.

Lee's arrived yesterday and received a respectful welcome from the Thai-government, the host of this year's APEC meeting.

A motorcade of 10 cars was dispatched by the Thai government to pick up Lee from the Bangkok International Airport. Lee was welcomed by Thai Minister of Information, Communication and Technology Surapong Surbwonglee and scores of Taiwanese officials, including Taipei's Representative to Thailand Paul Cheng.

To ensure the safety of Lee and the Taiwanese delegation, a BELL206 helicopter accompanied Lee's motorcade all the way from the airport to Dusit Thani Hotel, where Lee and members of the Taiwan delegation are staying.

A score of Thai bodyguards have also been dispatched by Bangkok to ensure Lee's safety while attending the informal APEC Economic Leaders Meeting on behalf of Chen.

More than 200 eager Thailand-based Taiwanese businesspeople gathered at the hotel to welcome the arrival of Lee and his delegation.

The presence of these businesspeople was significant, as many of them had decided to welcome Lee instead of attending a welcoming banquet for Hu.

Former top US official calls for closer military ties

By Charles Snyder

STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON

The US and Taiwan must closely coordinate their military response to a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan and develop long term relations among officers of their respective militaries to help defeat such an attack, a former senior US defense official said.

Stephen Bryen, who served as deputy undersecretary of defense under former US president Ronald Reagan, told a seminar at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank that the greatest problem facing US-Taiwan military relations is the lack of communication and coordination between the two sides.

Bryen is also a member of the US-China Security Review Commission, a group set up by the US Congress to advise on US military policy toward Taiwan.

Bryen told the Heritage audience that the commission is currently studying issues related to the US-Taiwan-China relationship, and expects to issue a report later this year.

Bryen recalled his experience in 1996, when he was in Taiwan with former CIA director James Woolsey as China launched missiles near Taiwan in advance of that year's presidential election. At the time, he recalled, the "panic factor" led to "great uncertainty whether this was an exercise or was a war."

He said that experience taught him that greater communication was needed.

"You need to have some sort of common communication and control capability, so that both sides [US and Taiwan] know exactly what both sides are doing," he said.

At the same time, both sides have to have "some agreement on scenarios," in which each side would explain in detail to the other how they would react militarily in case of a Chinese attack or threat, so they can coordinate their response and work together to defeat an attack.

Assuming that the US would come to Taiwan's defense, Washington should let Taiwan's military know how long it would take to respond, what equipment would have to be moved and how the movements would be made.

"All these things would have to be laid out in advance," Bryen said.

US policy has rejected such close, direct military relationships, and repeated efforts in Congress supporting closer US-Taiwan military interactions in recent years have failed, in part because of opposition from the White House.

The continued Chinese buildup of ballistic and cruise missiles opposite Taiwan is "probably the most important issue involving relations between Taiwan and China," Bryen said, adding that the US should push China to reduce the number of such missiles, or relocate them inland to take them out of range of Taiwan.

"If you want to reduce the danger level, you must reduce the missile threat," he said. "Installing ballistic missile defense in Taiwan is not going to solve the problem."

Byren also raised doubts on the roll of US aircraft carriers as the chief means of an American response to a Chinese attack threat. First, he said, it takes time to move carriers into position. Second, China is working on ways to take US carriers out of operation before they reach the strait, and incapacitating them with cruise missiles, advanced torpedoes and other weapons once they get there.

"So we must think of what else we can do that would be equally formidable and would act as a deterrent," he said.

Cross-strait cooperation is not just clandestine

By Chin Heng-wei

`Beijing offers not only "clandestine assistance" but also "overt assistance."'

President Chen Shui-bian's assertion during his interview with the Washington Post that Beijing has been helping the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) prompted a furious rebuttal from the two parties.

KMT Chairman Lien Chan said that it was irresponsible defamation to say that the Chinese communists have secretly helped the KMT and PFP to overthrow the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government. PFP Chairman James Soong also criticized Chen for belittling Taiwanese people and smearing his and Lien's parties with groundless accusations.

How come the KMT and PFP are so angry? If anyone's reputation has been damaged it is China's. But why do the two parties in Taiwan feel aggrieved?

Chen did not spell out the whole truth when he used the term "clandestine assistance" to describe this form of cross-strait cooperation.

Beijing's top three enemies are former president Lee Tung-hui, Chen and Vice President Annette Lu. It has, however, never put Lien and Soong on its blacklist.

In their strategies, Chinese communists tend to team up with their secondary enemies to fight their primary enemies. Therefore, for Beijing, it is necessary to put down Lee, Chen and Lu, and to work with Lien and Soong. That's why they receive "clandestine assistance."

Beijing offers not only "clandestine assistance" but also "overt assistance." Three days before the presidential election in 2000, Chinese premier Zhu Rong-ji held a press conference to threaten Taiwanese people to make a "wise historic decision" by voting for Lien or Soong to prevent Chen from being elected.

If China had been the only side to issue such a warning, it would have been overt assistance. But once Lien and Soong also threatened the electorate by saying that "cross-strait war will start upon Chen's victory," they created "mutual assistance" with Beijing. It is more than "overt assistance"; it is fish helping water and water helping fish, China helping Lien and Soong, and Lien and Soong helping China.

Similarly, when Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Joseph Wu said that the KMT and PFP have been "exchanging amorous looks with each other," he had also understated the reality.

In her essay published on the Web site of the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Aug. 17, 2001, researcher Bonnie Glaser revealed that "scores of KMT delegations visiting China in the past year have urged Beijing to avoid opening a dialogue with Chen that might strengthen his position and increase his chances of re-election" and that "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."

Glaser later explained that her article encapsulated the views that were conveyed to her by Chinese institute analysts and officials during her July visit to Beijing. She was surprised that people in Taiwan did not seem to know what was said by some of the KMT delegations during their visits to China. Obviously, it is a well-known fact: Beijing and the KMT and PFP are actually giving "mutual assistance" to each other.

Chin Heng-wei is editor-in-chief of Contemporary Monthly magazine.

Who are Taiwan's real enemies?

By the Liberty Times editorial

According to the Washington Post on Tuesday, US government officials have confirmed that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) will soon hold large-scale military exercises in the Fujian area. The Pentagon has also indicated that the US is closely watching the movement and direction of the PLA's exercises.

The truth of the matter is that all armies need to train, and military exercises are the best way to accomplish that. This is a necessary way of testing the strength of the armed forces. Therefore, our countrymen have no need to overreact to the PLA's military exercises. In fact, they have grown accustomed to it.

However, the PLA is making no effort to conceal the target of its exercises. Chinese military threats to Taiwan have become indisputable. President Chen Shui-bian's  comments during a recent interview with the Washington Post that China is secretly helping the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP) do not seem entirely groundless.

It is truly regretful that facing the military threats of the PLA and the endless diplomatic blockade and economic unification campaign of China, the pan-blue camp ignores the real source of Taiwan's problems and casts all the blame on Chen's administration. Pan-blue leaders even went as far as to disregard the image of the country by criticizing their own president in front of foreign friends during their overseas visits. It is truly inappropriate to use such campaign language during such occasions.

At the same time, as a member of the UN Security Council, China has coerced Liberia to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

The number of countries holding diplomatic ties with Taiwan has now been reduced to 26. Yet, the pan-blue camp has failed to protest China's campaign to suppress Taiwan's international space. All they do is repeatedly ask our own government officials to step down. Such conduct is truly puzzling.

Actually, Chen spoke about Chinese assistance to the KMT and PFP with mixed feelings. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has repeatedly offered its goodwill to the other side of the Taiwan Strait, hoping to improve the cross-strait relationship. However, China continues to refuse to deal with the government, unwilling to give Chen any kind of recognition. The goal is to prevent Chen being re-elected by maintaining a cold and distant cross-strait relationship.

Therefore, to win over the trust of the Taiwanese people, the top priority of the pan-blue camp is not to demand from Chen, the DPP or the National Security Bureau evidence of Chinese assistance to the KMT and PFP.

Instead, they should prove with their actions and words that the PFP and the KMT hold a position no different from the rest of Taiwanese with respect to the Chinese obstruction of Taiwan. They must make the people believe that if elected they would be able to safeguard the future and sovereignty of Taiwan.

Unfortunately, to regain the presidency lost four years ago, the pan-blue camp has not only flirted with China, but also stood idly by as China undermines Taiwan. Their hope is to influence the outcome of the presidential election through China.

Actually, both the pan-blue and pan-green camps should realize one fact: China will show no mercy in its efforts to suppress Taiwan's international space, regardless of which party is in power. So long as the national sovereignty of Taiwan remains a reality, China will seek to destroy it.

Unless they are ready to accept the "one China, two systems" model and hand over the democracy, freedoms and human rights that Taiwanese have nurtured, both the pan-blue and pan-green camps should unite in supporting the government's efforts to stand up to China. Confusing our foreign friends or even becoming an international laughing stock by lodging grievances overseas is not the way to go.

The upcoming presidential election has become the key to the future direction of Taiwan. No candidate should try to deceive the voters and win votes with vague and illusory slogans.

Rather, each candidate must clearly give his or her views about Taiwan's long-term plans in the face of continuous Chinese threats, as well as how to rectify the people's confused national identity, so that Taiwan may become a unified, "normal" country.

It is wrong to have only campaign strategies and no blueprint for the country. It is wrong to have only enough rage to criticize the government, but not enough courage and determination to safeguard and uphold the interests of the Taiwan people.

It is unforgettable how a certain pan-blue camp figure criticized Chen's proposal for a new constitution as a "boring" idea and chastised Chen as being "ignorant" for bringing it up.

Yet, when the pan-blue camp discovered that public opinion supported rewriting the Constitution, they immediately changed their minds and decided to establish a task force to look into the matter.

The same thing was true about the issue of establishing a broadcasting and telecommunication commission. When a certain pan-blue camp figure suggested establishing such a commission once elected, little did he know that the Executive Yuan had done all the preparatory work for establishing it. As soon as the relevant bill is passed, the commission can begin to operate.

Perhaps the think tanks of pan-blue camp should keep in better touch with the government, so that its candidates won't mistake existing government policy for their own campaign white papers.

While overseas, the pan-blue leaders' response to questions about Chinese threats have been the expression of wishful thinking about self-restraint. Little do they know that asking self-discipline from a country that refuses to give up the threat of using force against Taiwan is a real joke.