Lee also criticized the media outlets that he characterized as pro-unification. He said they should be held accountable for poisoning people's minds and standing in the way of the development of Taiwanese identity.

The former president said that the pro-China media's linking of the arrests of several Taiwanese businessmen in China with President Chen Shui-bian's public statement that 496 Chinese missiles were aimed at Taiwan was not legitimate.

"It was the same story when the media broadsided me in 1996 when I revealed that the missiles China fired in a military exercise in the Taiwan Strait were blanks. They accused me of leaking intelligence and alleged that Taiwan's intelligence operatives had been arrested. But in fact it was all fabricated," Lee said.

Lee also lambasted the newly passed Referendum Law, which contains several limitations on the people's right to initiate a vote. Lee said that the law was a mockery and an insult to the people of Taiwan.

"Former Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori yesterday told me that the Japanese newspapers had characterized Taiwan's Referendum Law as similar in spirit to Western referendum laws. But I told him that if the Japanese media had carefully studied the contents of Taiwan's law, they would know it's a huge deception," Lee said.

Lee said 2003 has been a critical year in which Taiwan embarked on a journey to build a normal nation, with various large demonstrations demonstrating the people's solidarity on identity-related issues.

These demonstrations included a rally of 150,000 people in support of changing the nation's name on Sept. 6 and a march of 200,000 people calling for referendum legislation on Oct. 25.

Lee said that the most important tasks at the moment are to break the KMT's grip on education, which he said has enslaved people's thinking for decades, and to reinforce people's determination to run their own country instead of allowing themselves to be ruled by an alien regime.

"The KMT is a party from China, while the pan-green parties are home-grown political parties. That's where the differences are. The KMT used to say the Taiwanese are not intelligent enough to choose their own leaders, but I know the people won't be deceived by such nonsense," Lee said.

Meanwhile, the graduation ceremony featured celebrities such as Twu Shiing-jer, former head of the department of health; Chen Si-yu, hostess of the controversial Special Report VCD and former Miss Taiwan; and Freddy Lin, lead singer of the pop band Chthonic.

Lin leads silent protest in Taipei

By Lin Chieh-yu

STAFF REPORTER

Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Lin Yi-hsiung yesterday led members of his anti-nuclear group in a silent protest in front of the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) central headquarters, demanding that the party honor its promise to carry out legislative reform as well as support a national referendum on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.

It was the third time that Lin had visited the KMT during the past two weeks to seek the party's cooperation with the ruling DPP.

On Friday, Lin went so far as to state that to achieve their goal of having the newly passed Referendum Law amended to halve the number of legislative seats and establish a nuclear-free nation, his supporters may soon resort to radical measures, including hunger strikes and even self-immolation in extreme cases.

On Lin's previous two visits to the party's headquarters, KMT Chairman Lien Chan has presented himself to exchange words with Lin.

Yesterday, however, it was the deputy chairman of the party's administrative and management committee, Lin Yong-rui, who appeared to receive the complaint. The group was expected to leave KMT headquarters at about 5pm yesterday.

Lin and members of the Committee for a Public Referendum on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant visited the KMT's headquarters on Dec. 12 and Dec. 18 in peaceful demonstrations which won the KMT's support, forcing Lien to state that he would support a referendum over the plant.

During yesterday's demonstration, members of the committee walked around the KMT headquarters, singing, "I love Taiwan." They said that the Public Referendum Law had five major faults and demanded that KMT legislators quickly rectify the problems and restore the people's rights.

"Taiwan will be drowned in chaos. That politics and politicians are reduced to using sweet talk to assume power, only then to forget about the people's approval, will be a major reason for this. The process of approving and passing the Referendum Law proves the extent to which this bad habit has taken hold," the statement said.

As far as the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is concerned, the committee said that the opposition parties must revert to their former agreement for a non-nuclear nation and work together for a legislative resolution that, "There will always be electricity and that until a final depository for nuclear waste has been found, nuclear power will cease to be developed and a non-nuclear family will be established."

If the Legislative Yuan cannot pass such a resolution, then all political parties must agree to put it to a referendum.

Lin Yong-rui said that the committee's position would be relayed to the highest levels of the KMT for their immediate attention.

Lu lauds Taiwan's competitiveness on international stage

WORLD PLAYER: The news that Taiwan was now fifth in terms of global competitiveness brought a smile to the vice president's face

CNA , TAIPEI

Vice President Annette Lu said yesterday that Taiwan's competitiveness has risen from 10th to fifth globally in the three and a half years that Chen Shui-bian has been president.

At a meeting marking Architects' Day, Lu described Chen and herself as architects of the country who have helped the country progress.

According to Lu, a recent World Economic Forum (WEF) report ranked Taiwan's overall competitiveness fifth worldwide, compared with 10th in 2000.

The WEF also ranked Taiwan as the most competitive country in Asia for the second year in a row.

Lu said that architecture does not depend on materials alone, but requires a human touch as well.

She said she hopes that architecture in the future will depend on the interplay of high technology and the humanities; tradition and innovation; and localization and internationalization.

Meanwhile, Lu noted that at a time when countries are seeking to sign free trade agreements, Taiwan should accelerate its internationalization process to avoid being marginalized.

She said that Taiwanese people should not be pessimistic as they have created democratic and economic miracles in spite of having limited territory and resources, as well as having to face the diplomatic embargo imposed by Beijing.

Turning to China, Lu urged Taiwanese people not to forget the 496 missiles Beijing is aiming at Taiwan. Lu reminded the public that the number of missiles may rise to 650 in 2005.

Rights groups fight for improved gender, sex rights

MOVING BACKWARDS: Social groups say rights over gender equality, sex and sexuality were on the slide when compared to the positions of other human rights

By Debby Wu

STAFF REPORTER

Social groups yesterday said that while the government was promoting human rights enthusiastically, other rights regarding gender identification, sex and sexuality were actually moving backwards.

"In 1966 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was passed to forbid promotion of discrimination against ethnic groups or religious hatred, and the covenant has also been extended to cover discrimination against sexual orientation and disability over the years," said Wang Ping, secretary-general of the Taiwan Gender/Sexuality Rights Association.

"That was the human rights concept which already existed 36 years ago. But if we examine Taiwan using this standard, many Taiwanese legislators have broken the law, and even the vice president herself is a violator," Wang said. He was referring to legislators' malicious language and attitudes toward women, and Vice President Annette Lu's statement that AIDS is a punishment from the gods.

The Taiwan Gender/Sexuality Rights Association, the Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters, the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline, the Transgender Butterfly Garden and the Persons with HIV/AIDS Rights Advocacy Association of Taiwan yesterday also announced the ten major news stories this year about sexual rights violation.

The ten stories are:

-- The closing down of National Central University English professor Josephine Ho's Web site, which contained a link to bestiality, and a raid on the gay bookshop Gingin for openly selling homoerotic magazines.

-- Vice President Annette Lu called the spread of AIDS s a form of punishment from the gods, and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hou Shui-sheng said that if gays all got married, no-one would have children anymore and Taiwan would perish.

-- The launching of the National Health Insurance IC card, which contains a comprehensive medical history of the patient and might reveal illnesses the patient is unwilling to have publicized.

-- The discriminative definitions of "homosexual," "transgender," "sex industry workers," and "AIDS" in the Chinese dictionary released by the Ministry of Education.

-- Police officers paid men to have sex with prostitutes, then arrest the prostitutes afterwards to improve their performance records.

-- Police officers tested both urine and blood of clubbers during a raid on a gay bar in Kaohsiung to see whether the clubbers have taken ecstasy or have AIDS.

-- Cheng Hui-fang, a mafia chief in Chiayi, was thought to be male when first arrested in December. But later it was found he was a transgender person, who underwent female-to-male surgery earlier this year. There have been lots of sensational reports regarding Cheng's gender and sexuality.

-- Taiwanese snakeheads threw smuggled Chinese women into the sea, where some drowned.

-- Transsexuals Lin Kuo-hua and Tsai Ya-ting committed suicide.

-- Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yu Yueh-hsia called Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen an "old maid" and said that those who do not get married must have some kind of problem, while DPP Legislator Tsai Chi-fang was heard to say during a legislative session, "[Independent Legislator] Sisy Chen said her breasts are for socializing. I also want to socialize with her breasts."

A representative from the Transgender Butterfly Garden, who wished to remain anonymous, said that most of the time doctors would say transgender people suffer from gender identification and emotional problems, which meant that if transgender people returned to "normal" they would not be troubled anymore.

"But it is the public's narrow-mindedness and stereotypical concept of sex and gender that need diagnosis and treatment," he said.

Shift in Japan's policy on the way?

Former Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori arrived in Taiwan on Dec. 25 for a three-day visit. Mori, the predecessor of current Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, was in office from 2000 to 2001 and is only the second former Japanese prime minister to visit Taiwan. Under the circumstances, his visit is very significant to the Taiwan-Japan relationship.

The significance of Mori's visit is demonstrated by the strong protests lodged against it by Beijing. Major newspapers in Japan have quoted Liou Jian-Chao, an official with the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs, as saying that Mori's visit, over the protests of China, was "regrettable" and "upsetting."

According to Liou, because Mori is a former prime minister, his visit to Taiwan is equivalent to an official visit, with strong political connotations.

This forced the Japanese government to offer explanations. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda and Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi explained to the media, respectively, that Mori had made the visit in his private capacity and that the Japanese government had had no hand in it.

In any event, this kind of reaction by Beijing is not surprising in view of its notorious record. However, Beijing is at least right about one thing this time -- while Mori's visit was in no sense an official one, it nevertheless had much political significance.

Koizumi was a key member of Mori's team when Mori was in office. This is not to mention that Mori played an important part in Koizumi's election. Moreover, since having left office, Mori remains an important and active figure in Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Besides, during his visit to Taiwan, Mori met with both President Chen Shui-bian and former president Lee Teng-hui.

To understand the significance of Mori's visit, one must keep in mind the special ties between Japan and Taiwan, both in the past and at present.

At the end of World War II, Taiwan had been a Japanese colony for more than five decades. It was Japan that surrendered Taiwan's sovereignty at the end of the war. While the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime then ruling China accepted the surrender on behalf of the Allies, the future of Taiwan was still to be decided.

Yet what many believed should have been an interim measure -- rule of Taiwan by the KMT -- lasted for five decades. In a sense, it was Japan that handed Taiwan its present dilemma of being a sovereign country not recognized by most members of the international community.

Many ethnic mainlanders in Taiwan feel that the people of Taiwan should be ashamed of this part of Taiwan's history and feel animosity toward the Japanese. However, that is at odds with native Taiwanese culture.

Having been passed around among different rulers over hundreds of years, without the right to have a say about their future, the people of Taiwan have come to see their history with sober objectivity, recognizing that Japanese rule brought both good and bad things to Taiwan.

Learning from the mistakes of their past passivity, they now understand they alone have the right to decide their future.

At the same time, the public in Japan feels sympathetic to the plight of Taiwan as a result of the two countries' special historical ties. Yet, under tremendous pressure from China, the Japanese government has recognized the "one China" policy since the 1970s.

However, with China having become the new leader of the Asia-Pacific region in the past decade, surpassing even Japan, Japan seems to share increasing common interests with Taiwan.

Will this lead to Japan's adjusting its Taiwan policy? Time will tell.

KMT: Clean up your act

For over 50 years of one-party autocratic rule in Taiwan, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has accumulated an enormous amount of assets with its major portion being attained through two common practices.

These practices are illegal acquisition of either public or private properties and abusive access to the nation's treasury coffers.

After the long period of being the supreme untouchable ruling power in Taiwan, it has never dawned on the KMT that one day it would have to face the nation fair and square to admit its wrongdoings in the past and return the stolen properties to their rightful owners.

As the cliche goes, what goes around, comes around. Now is the time for the KMT to right its wrongs by taking the initiative to turn over any ill-gotten assets to the people of Taiwan.

So far, instead of showing sincerity in reforming the party and doing what's right by relinquishing all the questionable properties, the KMT simply sits there and cries, behaving just like a spoiled brat.

When will the KMT wise up and quit the charade?

The KMT must face reality and abandon the self-defeating mindset that it should always rule because it ruled before.

The point I'm making to the KMT is this: clean up your act.

Ching H. Li

Changhua

Why China must honor `five noes'

`If China is at all sincere, it should withdraw the missiles that are targeting us and immediately renounce the use of force against Taiwan, so that the people of Taiwan will no longer be required to live under the threat of force from China. This would allow the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to ponder their future rationally and seek a mutually advantageous path on an equal and peaceful footing.'

With the presidential election rapidly approaching, and with popular support for the candidates as reflected in opinion polls closer than ever, the issue of security in the Taiwan Strait has become the biggest focus of debate between the pan-blue and pan-green camps.

To ensure security across the Taiwan Strait, President Chen Shui-bian indicated during his inaugural speech in 2000 that "as long as the Chinese communist regime does not intend to use force against Taiwan, I promise that during my term I will not declare independence, will not change the name of the country, will not push for the incorporation of a special state-to-state model of cross-strait relations into the Constitution and will not push for a referendum on the independence-unification issue that will change the status quo. Nor will there be any question of abolishing the National Unification Guidelines and the National Unification Council."

This is the so-called "five noes" statement.

However, Chen recently indicated that as China continues to deploy missiles targeting Taiwan and to expand its military, the conditions under which the "five noes" were formulated have long ceased to exist.

He went on to indicate that the defensive referendum to be held in March of next year will not violate the spirit of the "five noes."

This is the biggest concession and the most sincere compromise that Chen is making for the sake of national security, the popular good and peace in the Taiwan Strait.

But if China fires missiles as it did during the 1996 presidential campaign, the "five noes" will truly vanish.

In view of Chen's commitment and firm position, we express our deep support.

Some have noted that China's missile deployment and military expansion did not begin just today. Of course we admit that that is true. But China has been rapidly increasing the number of missiles it is aiming at Taiwan. That is why Chen openly stated recently that China has 496 missiles targeting Taiwan. This was to make the people of Taiwan understand the seriousness of the military threat posed by China.

The reality is that China is a threat to all countries in the Asia-Pacific region. But no one feels more threatened than Taiwan, which is only a short distance away from China. In addition, the economic interests of the people of Taiwan are tied up with China. Any conflict will change the existing economic structure and balance of power. This is not something that people on either side of the Taiwan Strait would be pleased to see.

After Chen took the initiative by expressing goodwill through his "five noes" statement, China responded by saying that "it will listen carefully to Chen's words, and closely observe his conduct." The hegemonic mentality evident in this statement, in addition to China's continued missile deployments, military expansion and espionage campaign against Taiwan's military intelligence, as well as a series of verbal threats and attacks, make us question how much of the goodwill expressed by Chen is being reciprocated.

How much longer must the people of Taiwan live under the threat of a missile attack? As the people of a sovereign country, aren't we entitled to choose the way we want to live? What is wrong with the government's enacting the Referendum Law so as to protect the Taiwanese people's right to self-determination?

To throw cold water on the enactment of the Referendum Law, and to keep Taiwan from proceeding with a referendum that has nothing to do with the independence-unification issue, China tried to use the US against Taiwan.

Such high-handed tactics by China can never be accepted by the more than 23 million people of Taiwan.

After Chen disclosed that China is targeting Taiwan with 496 missiles, a Hong Kong newspaper began to spread lies about China's arrest of alleged Taiwanese spies, saying that the arrests had much to do with Chen's disclosure of the number of missiles. This is an obvious attempt to blacken Chen's name and discredit the government.

What we do not understand is this -- why can't China accept the reality that Taiwan is not part of China? Why can't it recognize the reality that Taiwan is a sovereign country?

This is not to mention that the most important cause of the split across the Taiwan Strait is the actions of China.

The fact that an ROC president has been elected by the people he represents proves that neither side of the Taiwan Strait belongs to the other side. This is reality. If China cannot even recognize reality, what grounds does it have to talk about "peaceful unification?"

Considering that China disapproves of Taiwanese people's right to hold referendums, and considering its verbal attacks on and belittlement of the nation's leader, China's diplomatic siege, its missile deployments and military targeting of Taiwan -- all moves that run counter to the popular will of Taiwanese people -- what right does China have to talk about "placing hope in the people of Taiwan?"

China was the one that violated the conditions for the "five noes."

How can pro-unification media and political parties ignore this fact and not condemn China but instead criticize their own government, as well as seize on opportunities created by the rumored arrests of Taiwanese spies to divide the Presidential Office and the military intelligence system?

Since the precondition for the "five noes" -- that China "does not intend to use force against Taiwan" -- is not being met, is there any security left across the Taiwan Strait?

Taiwan's crisis has existed for several decades. Only pro-China politicians would be naive enough to think that we can place our hopes for peace on the Chinese government.

After years of waiting, the people of Taiwan can finally decide how they want to live by casting votes.

Through the referendums, a strong consensus will emerge, strongly expressing the will of the people of Taiwan. Against a backdrop of Chinese opposition and a lack of support from the US, the importance of the defensive referendum next year is highlighted.

A referendum on March 20th is inevitable. China will surely try to interfere as usual. Is the crisis in the Taiwan Strait about to boil over? That depends on the wisdom of policymakers.

However, we must not ignore the real causes of the problem.

As indicated by Chen, as long as China displays goodwill and indicates a willingness to withdraw its missiles and renounce the use of force against Taiwan, there is no need to hold a defensive referendum next year.

If China displays such goodwill, a potential crisis could actually become a positive turning point.

China has become the hegemon of Asia. Taiwan has never been a threat to China, being preoccupied with seeking development and stability in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.

If China is at all sincere, it should withdraw the missiles that are targeting us and immediately renounce the use of force against Taiwan, so that the people of Taiwan will no longer be required to live under the threat of force from China.

This would allow the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to ponder their future rationally and seek a mutually advantageous path on an equal and peaceful footing.

We also hope that as the pillar of world peace, the US can extend fair treatment to Taiwan, so that people here can enjoy liberty and democracy just like other countries.

For the sake of world peace and the common interests of mankind, the US should continue to follow the "Taiwan Relations Act" in supporting Taiwan's path to democracy. After all, ensuring the development of Taiwan and stability in the Taiwan Strait is truly compatible with the national interests of the US.