Army warns of threat of `dirty bombs'

NATIONAL DEFENSE: `Unrestricted warfare' as espoused by China could involve the use of nuclear or biochemical weapons in all their various forms

By Brian Hsu

STAFF REPORTER

Wednesday, Nov 26, 2003,Page 1

Taiwan is unprepared for a non-conventional attack by China involving nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, the army said yesterday.

"China has been emphasizing the importance of `unrestricted warfare' in the future battlefield," said Major General Huang Hsi, director of the chemical department of the army general headquarters, referring to a form a warfare that seeks to destabilize a militarily superior foe.

"The use of nuclear and biochemical weapons is among the methods of conducting unrestricted warfare," he said.

"In response to this type of threat, the army will seek to enhance its capabilities against non-conventional warfare such as unrestricted warfare," Huang said.

Huang made the remarks yesterday at a regular press conference of the Ministry of National Defense as he briefed the press on the army's development of countermeasures against nuclear and biochemical attacks.

Huang singled out the possibility of such attacks by China, a scenario that most military leaders do not want to discuss in public.

Given that the majority of military leaders are ethnic mainlanders, they are usually unwilling to admit the possibility that people of the same blood on the other side of the Taiwan Strait might use such weapons against them.

Huang called attention to the "dirty bomb," a cheap and easy-to-make weapon that China might use before launching wide-ranging non-conventional attacks.

The "dirty bomb" is conventional explosives mixed with radioactive material. There is no nuclear fission or fusion, but the radioactive material is dispersed by the conventional explosives, contaminating a wide area and causing panic.

Huang said the US military had conducted an exercise in May to simulate the impact of a "dirty bomb." Taiwan's military has made a computer simulation of a similar scenario, he said.

"The results of the US exercise show that although no immediate casualties will occur in the wake of a dirty bomb explosion, it can still produce some radioactive fallout that will affect the health of people in the explosion area and pollute the whole environment," Huang said.

"The power of a dirty bomb depends on the amount of radioactive material it contains. A small dirty bomb, for instance, can affect several wards of residents in Taipei," he said. Such a bomb might contain 1kg of radioactive material.

The number of victims could be tens of thousands if the bomb drops into a densely-populated region such as Taipei's Wanhua district around the Presidential Office.

"The US exercise tells us that 160 shelters and 50 medical centers need to be set up to cope with a dirty bomb attack," Huang said.

National Defense Medical College executive dean Colonel Liu Hwang-wun, who also attended the press conference, said the military currently has only limited ability in handling such attacks.

"We can treat affected people and decontaminate polluted areas but only in a limited way," Liu said.

"As yet, the government has not assigned any department to handle the possibility of dirty-bomb attacks. The military has no guiding principles to follow except those for countermeasures against nuclear and biochemical attacks," he said.

US congressman backs referendums

HOUSE RESOLUTION: The Democratic Party's Robert Andrews argued that exclusive responsibility for the country belongs in the hands of Taiwanese people

US Democratic Congressman Robert Andrews has introduced a resolution calling for support for the people of Taiwan to hold referendums to determine their own future, the Formosan Association of Public Affairs (FAPA) said on Monday.

On Nov. 21, the last day before the US House of Representatives adjourned for the year, Andrews introduced a resolution to "express the sense of the Congress that the people of Taiwan should be able to conduct referendum votes free from intimidation or threat of force," according to FAPA president Wu Ming-chi.

The resolution included five major points. The first said the people of Taiwan, and not the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), should have exclusive responsibility for determining the future of Taiwan.

The second said Taiwan should be able to conduct referendums on issues that will have a direct effect on its quality of life, free from intimidation or threat of force.

The third said the US should support Taiwan as a blossoming democracy, including its adoption of such democratic practices as the use of referendums.

The fourth point said the US should continue to be a strong supporter of Taiwanese membership in the World Health Organization (WHO).

The final point said the US should raise the issue of Taiwanese referendums, including a vote respecting membership in the WHO, at future meetings with Chinese officials.

The FAPA noted in a statement that it is a strong supporter of the notion that the future of Taiwan be solely determined by the people of Taiwan and nobody else.

The idea that the future of Taiwan must be determined "with the assent of the people of Taiwan" did not go far enough, the group's statement said. The word "assent" implies that the Taiwanese people needed to approve or endorse a decision made by the PRC, it added.

"We believe that only the people of Taiwan have the right to determine Taiwan's future -- not the people of the PRC. After all, in 1776, the people of England did not determine the future of America," the statement said.

The statement said recent Chinese rhetoric of using force against Taiwan if it declares independence meant the introduction of the resolution was very timely.

"We at the FAPA will seek to build up support for this resolution and hope we can bring it to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote next March when the actual referendum will take place in Taiwan," it said.

Defenders of `Special Report' speak out

COUNTERATTACK: The head of the company that produced the controversial VCDs said PFP boss James Soong should have to prove how the discs libeled him

By Jimmy Chuang

STAFF REPORTER

Wednesday, Nov 26, 2003,Page 3

"Everybody has the right to speak out, no?... People First Party Chairman James Soong criticized our stories for the VCD series as nasty. Please, prove it."

－Lu Tung-long, head of Bi-sheng Broadcasting

Lu Tung-long, head of Bi-sheng Broadcasting, which produced the Special Report series of VCDs, said yesterday that his employees had produced the discs simply because they wanted to express a different political voice.

"Everybody has the right to speak out, no?" Lu said at a press conference yesterday morning at National Taiwan University.

"People First Party [PFP] Chair-man James Soong criticized our stories for the VCD series as nasty. Please, prove it!" he said.

In response to Soong's criticisms, Lu filed a libel suit against the PFP chief on Nov. 21.

"Taipei prosecutors summoned the actors and actresses in the VCDs because PFP Legislator Chiu Yi filed a libel suit against us [the producers and cast]. So it is my hope that they can summon and interrogate Soong soon as well," Lu said.

Lu said that his company was established in July with Hsu Yu-chuan as its chief.

He said Hsu initially planned to organize a talk show but the plan fell through because no TV stations would air the show.

"Hsu talked to Formosa TV, ETTV, Era TV and TTV but none of them was willing to work with our company," Lu said.

Lu said that he joined the company after Hsu left and they decided to begin to work on the VCDs on Aug. 20.

He said his production house had completed work on the VCD series parts one to 10, while parts 11 and 12 were almost finished.

Yesterday's press conference was co-organized by the Northern Taiwan Society, the Southern Taiwan Society and the Central Taiwan Society. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chung-mo, Senior Presidential Adviser Koo Kuan-min, writer Wu Jin-fa, Northern Taiwan Society vice chairman Chen Yi-shen and secretary-general Yang Chi-wei attended the conference to show their support for Lu and the cast of Special Report.

"There should be different voices in a society. They are doing the right thing to contribute themselves to a democratic country," Koo said. "I would love to do all that I can, financially and mentally, to help these young men who are working on Special Report."

Wu complained about the media coverage of the shows, saying, "The press owes me an apology."

Wu was referring to stories about Chiu accusing him of being one of the show's writers.

"Chiu made up stories every day and you guys [reporters] spread the message for him every day, too," Wu said. "Did you ever confirm your story ideas? How can you hurt an innocent person like that? How dare you?"

Wu accused Chiu of lying at least five times in the past seven days -- when he said Wu was one of the writers, when he said Wu had donated NT$6 million to the VCD cast, when he said Wu had installed a hidden camera in the lawmaker's residence and when he said Wu was supported by a unnamed politician.

"Why should a raped person have to find the evidence to prove the rapist guilty? Is it logical and reasonable? No. This is ridiculous," Wu said.

DPP wasn't involved in VCDs: Lu

By Lin Chieh-yu

STAFF REPORTER

Wednesday, Nov 26, 2003,Page 3

Vice President Annette Lu said yesterday that neither the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nor the Presidential Office had anything to do with the Special Report VCDs.

"The VCD series were not produced by the government or any political parties," she said. "Those who participate in evening talk shows on TV seem to feel that their opinions represent mainstream public opinion."

"It looks like many are displeased with the media's hegemony and are launching a drastic counterattack," Lu said at a press conference to publicize International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which is observed each year on Nov. 25.

"I hoped that the people would realize that it is a problem of media environment, not a political issue," she said.

She also appealed to the public to stop hurting one another by escalating the political and legal conflicts stemming from the VCDs.

Lu said that she would not make any wild guess in political perspective but would like to review the entire event on the base of human rights as well as legal angles.

The VCD series makes fun of pan-blue politicians as well as some talk-show hosts, such as Clara Chou, Independent Legislator Sisy Chen and former DPP National Assembly representative Cheng Li-wen

Lu declined to comment when asked whether reports implying that Chen and Cheng have had close relationships with senior male politicians violated the women's rights.

She said people who do not like to be criticized should "not do to others what they don't want done to themselves."

"Whoever has the power of speech should reflect on what they have done to the others," Lu said. "One will feel how painful and unbearable it is, when he or she becomes a victim."

"It is ironic that people have to express their opinions in such an abnormal way, since we now enjoy 100 percent freedom of speech," she said.

Lu said that everybody should be responsible for their own speech and that those who control the media should take responsibility for their reports, not the government.

She also spoke about domestic violence at the press conference, saying it was more harmful to the women of Taiwan than SARS.

"According to the data from the Ministry of the Interior, there are eight cases of sexual violence and nearly 100 cases of domestic violence against women every day," Lu said. "We should teach all the women in this country how to protect themselves and where they can go to seek assistance."

Lu said she worried that society was spending too many resources on election campaigns and political struggles and too little attention is paid to issues such as the rising suicide rate, working women's rights and domestic violence.

"The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women reminds us that so many women still face violence and are struggling in a dark corner," Lu said.

Blue camp proves it's China's pawn

The high-profile treatment President Chen Shui-bian received during his stopover in the US en route to Panama indicates that Taiwan's effort to walk out and join the international community has yielded good results, exciting those who love Taiwan. But this has trampled on the toes of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP), which have unthinkably engaged in a barrage of criticism. They have not only launched a tirade against the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but also shifted their anger to the US and stirred up a new wave of anti-US sentiment.

Washington been low-key in responding to Chen's transit diplomacy, emphasizing that it merely offered a "courteous reception" without going beyond the "one China" principle. This being the case, Beijing can do nothing about it. China is, as usual, respectful to the US and, moreover, has signed business contracts to keep the US on its side. Of course, this is no one-sided benefit since the commodities procured from the US are what Beijing desperately needs and have also paved the way for Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's trip to the US next month.

What Washington wants most from Beijing, however, is to let the yuan appreciate and to pressure North Korea to de-nuclearize. China will only present this "big gift" to the new US president after the election next year, rather than helping George W. Bush secure his re-election bid, in the same way as China is not willing to give any advantage to the Chen government to help him win a second term.

While extending courteous treatment to Taiwan, the US did the same to China. When retired Chinese vice premier Qian Qichen visited the US, Bush also received him in an unprecedented fashion.

We can get a glimpse of how the blue camp is hostile to the US from several facts.

First, while delivering a speech in Yunlin County on Nov. 9, PFP Chairman James Soong said a member of the Bush family claimed that he (or she) could help arrange a meeting with a member of the family for KMT Chairman Lien Chan in exchange for US$1 million. Soong demanded that Chen explain how much money he had forked over to meet with one of the Bushes.

Chen said that he didn't spend a cent. The corrupt method of Taiwanese businesspeople squandering money to secure a meeting with Beijing leaders and increase their own worth is prevalent in China. Soong's allegation was apparently aimed at smearing the US. If what he said is true, why didn't he reveal it sooner?

Second, on the legislative floor on Nov. 10, blue-camp schemer and independent Legislator Sisy Chen questioned the incident in which Yang Liu-sheng, a National Security Bureau (NSB) member stationed in the US, was kept by the CIA for a three-day investigation when the scandal related to a secret NSB account was revealed in Taiwan. NSB Vice Director Huang Lei denied her allegation.

Third, Sisy Chen, when analyzing Taiwan's presidential election and mapping out strategies for Lien and Soong on Nov. 13, denounced the US for playing with duplicitous tactics -- demanding that Soong and KMT Vice Chairman Wang Jin-pyng fend off the DPP's plan to hold a referendum, while also using arms brokers to deal with President Chen. As a result, Chen Shui-bian's trip to the US was a success while the issue of referendums has become a curse for the blue camp.

Sisy Chen's statement is a non sequitur. Who from the US required Soong and Wang to act as shields? Washington merely expressed its concern over the issue of referendums. Its stance remains unchanged. Did the blue camp create the rumor itself? It is certainly low-class to make unfounded counter-charges.

It is evident that the US has never embarrassed Taiwan's president but has dealt with the Taiwan issue based on the Taiwan Relations Act. It is not possible to destroy the cooperation forged between the two democracies, which share basic values, even if misunderstandings or frictions occasionally emerge.

The blue camp, however, keeps sowing discord between Taiwan and the US, attacks US anti-terrorism policies and lambastes Taiwan's friendly policies toward the US as "ass-kissing." and "making itself a pawn of the US." The US has, as a result, realized that the blue camp is actually China's pawn.

Under the premise of opposing terrorism and supporting democracy and freedom, there is still much room for Taiwan to develop its relations with the US. As China is developing free trade relations with other nations to marginalize Taiwan and isolate the US, it is necessary for Taiwan to develop free trade relations with the US. Based on WTO principles, Taiwan should choose items with the least impact on the domestic economy and adopt some compensation measures before opening them up to the US in exchange for more US goodwill.

This can help fight China's besiegement policy as well as nullify the blue camp's trick of using economic issues to attack the ruling DPP.

Paul Lin is a political commentator based in New York.

Iron, blood symbols of a past era

A few days ago, there was a call to pair Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan with Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou for the presidential election next year instead of with People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong. Lien's response was that the alliance between him and Soong was "an alliance made of iron and blood." It is surprising to hear such a phrase coming from the mouth of a politician.

Maybe what Lien meant to say was that the alliance between him and Soong was rock solid, but such a relationship would be better described as an alliance carved in stone.

There is too much tension hidden in the phrase "iron and blood." It is readily associated with triads and their blood oaths. Many KMT revolutionaries were indeed triad members.

Sun Yat-sen was a member of the Red Gang and Chiang Kai-shek was a member of the Green Gang. After the Republic of China was founded, Sun drifted away from the triads, but Chiang continued to maintain a close relationship with them. He even used triads to eliminate his political enemies. Green Gang boss Du Yuesheng assisted with the slaughter of communists in Shanghai, for example.

The alliance of iron and blood between the KMT and the triads had still not been completely dissolved by the time Henry Liu was murdered in California in 1984 for writing an unflattering biography of then president Chiang Ching-kuo. Some have alleged that triads cannot be completely discounted from the 1993 murder of navy captain Yin Ching-feng as part of the Lafayette frigate scandal.

Even if we try to offer a more positive interpretation of the meaning of an "alliance made of iron and blood," it still carries a notion of unhappiness and an undemocratic flavor.

The "iron" in the epithet "Iron Chancellor" given to Germany's Otto von Bismarck is a way of describing absolute military power. Is it still appropriate for politicians in a democratic country to harbor such attitudes in the 21st century?

Talk of an alliance made of iron and blood also leads to an easy association with "the deepest mutual sincerity" that former president Lee Teng-hui and former premier Hau Pei-tsun talked about. How did their alliance of iron and blood end? In heartbroken grief.

Historically, too many relationships have progressed from the deepest mutual sincerity to heartbroken grief. One example is the relationship between Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi, two Japanese statesmen from the Meiji era. From childhood, they were the best of friends. Toshimichi, skinny and weak, was often bullied by the other children. Each time he was saved by the sturdy Takamori. Both grew up to become government officials and together they promoted reform.

With the advent of the Meiji Restoration, their relationship ended in heartbreak due to different ideals. Takamori resigned his post and returned to his home in Kagoshima, where he was pushed into starting the Satsuma revolt. When the revolt was put down, he committed suicide. Not long after, Toshimichi was assassinated. Before dying, he uttered the following tragic words: "Saigo, oh Saigo, the great wheel of time crushed your body, then it crushed mine, and it keeps rolling still."

There are many other examples where the outcome of an alliance made of iron and blood was the shedding of blood. One such example was the relationship between Leon Trotsky, Nikolai Bucharin and Joseph Stalin. Another was between Wang Ching-wei, a former KMT vice chairman) and Chiang Kai-shek. The relationship between Mao Zedong and Lin Biao even devolved from Lin being Mao's "heir designate" to a "designated target for execution."

The relationship between Che Guevara and Cuban President Fidel Castro is probably the one that best symbolizes a more positive outcome of an alliance made of iron and blood. The reason why the relationship between these blood brothers from the Cuban revolution can be said to be more positive is that very early on Guevara understood Castro's hypocrisy and arrogance and left for the Congo and then Bolivia to continue his revolutionary mission. In the end, he died in a small village in Bolivia.

It is ironic that a happy ending to an alliance of iron and blood is related to physical distance and not to emotional closeness. This is the way people are. It is a reality that cannot be altered.

Rather than serving the benefit of individuals, a political alliance is often a temporary compromise between two groups of people with competing interests -- bringing together two porcupines spells trouble, but putting several of them in a limited space will result in bloodshed.

There is an old saying that "officials should not entertain personal relationships." The idea was that protocol should be used to restrict military alliances between officials. This must have been based on previous experience. Personal relationships, alliances and revolts are an eternal trio in relationships between officials.

In this democratic era it is more reasonable to talk of politicians coming together as a result of pressures from public opinion or deciding to move apart as a result of trends in public opinion. Please leave all this talk of "deepest mutual sincerity" and "alliances of iron and blood" to the side.

Wu Chin-fa is a columnist.