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China’s
isolate Taiwan on July 10, 2004 China
blasts US for supporting Taiwan WAR
OF WORDS: Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin told the US National Security Adviser that
they were `seriously concerned' about the situation in the Taiwan Strait Chinese President Hu
Jintao yesterday expressed "serious concern" to US National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice over US arms sales to Taiwan, saying the nation's
status is the key to US-Chinese relations. Hu said Beijing wouldn't tolerate moves by the self-ruled nation toward
formal independence and appealed to Washington to avoid sending the "wrong
signal" to its government. His comments came a day after his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, who holds a key
military post, pressed Rice for an end to US sales of weapons to Taiwan. Hu affirmed Beijing's promise to pursue peaceful unification with Taiwan,
which has been autonomously ruled since 1949. "But China shows no tolerance to the Taiwan independence," the
official Xinhua News Agency paraphrased the Chinese president as telling Rice
during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's
legislature. It said the country is "the key to sound and stable
development" of US-Chinese relations. Rice, who was on a three-nation Asian tour, visited Beijing to seek Chinese
support for Washington's demand that North Korea give up nuclear weapons
development, as well as other issues including Iraq. Rice's talks in Beijing are "helpful for you to get a comprehensive
understanding about ... our serious concern over the question of Taiwan,"
Hu told her. Hu appealed to the administration of US President George W. Bush to avoid
sending the "wrong signal" to Taiwan, Xinhua said. China says it worries that US support is encouraging activists who want to
make Taiwan's de facto independence permanent -- a step that Beijing says could
lead to war. Xinhua said Hu called on Washington to "honor its commitments" --
a reference to US pledges made in the 1980s that include a promise to reduce and
eventually end arms sales to Taiwan. US officials had no immediate comment on the talks yesterday. On Thursday, Rice affirmed the "one-China policy," which doesn't
support Taiwan independence, according to an official traveling with her, who
spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said she repeated Bush's
opposition to any unilateral change in Taiwan's status. MOFA
says Beijing can't alter Taiwan-US relations By
Melody Chen The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MOFA) expressed deep regret yesterday over Chinese Foreign Minister Li
Zhaoxing's "three stops" request to US National Security Adviser
Condoleezza Rice over Taiwan. In his talks with Rice Thursday, Li urged the US government to stop selling
advanced arms, to halt official engagements and to stop helping Taiwan to
participate in international organizations where statehood is required for
membership. However, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen said yesterday that
Taiwan-US relations are good, and it is unlikely the US would alter its policies
because of China's pressure. "The US will stick to the Taiwan Relations Act [TRA]," he said. Li "strongly" urged the US to understand the sensitivity of the
Taiwan issue and the "gravity" of the current situation. Anna Kao , deputy director general of the MOFA's Department of Information
and Cultural Affairs, said Beijing's "three stops" demand to the US
was a gesture completely ignoring the goodwill that was demonstrated by
President Chen Shui-bian in his May 20 inaugural speech. By making the remarks, Li not only interfered in the development of
US-Taiwan relations, he also attempted to undermine the 2001 agreement in which
the US agreed to continue selling defensive weapons to Taiwan, Kao noted. Kao said Li's remarks are not conducive to positive growth in the
development of cross-Strait relations. Saying that Taiwan has purchased arms only for self-defense -- rather than
for military assault -- Kao said China's demand that the US stop selling
weaponry to Taiwan reflects Beijing's mentality that it will not renounce using
force against Taiwan to solve differences. Kao said the MOFA believes that Washington will continue to observe its
commitment to the TRA and the Six Assurances, under which the US has pledged to
provide Taiwan with sufficient defense capabilities to maintain peace and
stability in the Taiwan Strait. The MOFA also firmly believes that US support for Taiwan, including support
for Taiwan's bid to participate in various international organizations, will not
change because of Beijing's demands, Kao said. Unity
is a must while opposing Beijing By
Cao Chang-qing When Hong Kong was
handed over to China on July 1, 1997, hundreds of thousands of people took to
the streets to celebrate their return to the motherland. The drug of a
"greater China" worked on Hong Kongers' nationalist sentiments to
great effect, confusing their brains and blurring their vision so that they
could not distinguish which value is higher, the concept of a greater China or
their personal freedom. Seven years later, the memory of this joyous scene is still fresh. But more
than 500,000 people hit the streets once again to protest Beijing's autocracy,
which has deprived them of their freedom to directly elect their chief executive
in 2007 and lawmakers in 2008. Over the past seven years, freedom, the economy
and social culture in Hong Kong have all deteriorated. In the people's own
words, the territory is becoming more and more like China's hinterland. Hong Kongers used to think that they could be more proud to be a colony of
China than of the UK. Unexpectedly, their status has declined sharply within a
decade after they returned to the arms of the motherland. Before the handover,
the people of Hong Kong who frequently entered and left China were proud of
themselves. What the Chinese people envy the most about Hong Kongers is not the
cash in their hands, but their freedom to cross the border between the two
places, as well as their freedom to speak, sing and do business without any
mental and physical threats or restrictions that may endanger their own safety.
Unfortunately, the territory's media long ago introduced self-censorship of
news, its entertainers have learned to speak with a Beijing accent and its
businesspeople have learned not to express their political opinions. Not long
ago, three famous local talkshow hosts did not behave themselves and even
criticized Beijing boldly. But they were forced to shut up and eventually resign their posts after
receiving death threats. In fact, half a million Hong Kongers took to the
streets on the torrid summer days of this and last year simply because they have
already had a taste of the bitter, poisonous medicine that the Chinese people
have suffer for over half a century. Thus, they have just begun to experience
the bitterness of being a Chinese citizen. Nevertheless, having known the taste of freedom in the past, people in Hong
Kong understand that only by fighting Beijing can they truly protect themselves.
The massive demonstration last year successfully aborted the implementation of
Article 23 of the territory's Basic Law. The major demonstration this year will also restrain Beijing's impudence.
The Hong Kong example serves as an inspiration to the oppressed Taiwan: we can
only protect our own businesspeople, entertainers, and this democratic and free
country, if we unite together against Beijing. Cao
Chang-qing is a writer based in New York. Taiwan's
Constitution at crossroads By
Ku Chung-hwa Despite the fact there have been numerous constitutional amendments in the
past, this has not exhausted the imagination of politicians as to what can be
achieved with the Constitution. These politicians are constantly seeking to
harness the energy of the people through various forms of activism so they can
achieve their political goals. But most ordinary Taiwanese do not see what all the drama has to do with
their lives. With the exception of interested individuals or groups, most people
do not necessarily understand the significance of whether Taiwan should undergo
constitutional re-engineering or amendment s, whether it should adopt a
presidential, semi-presidential or parliamentary system, or a host of other
political issues. People might even believe this controversy reflects little
more than the political maneuvering of a small number of politicians. In fact, this phenomenon simply reflects a sense of alienation most
Taiwanese have with regard to the Constitution. This is partly because Taiwan's
experience with altering the Constitution is so mired in political maneuvering
and grandstanding that the government was totally unable to win any kind of
credibility. People hardly expect that politicians will put their cards on the
table and seek to remedy political problems together through constitutional
means. If the majority of the public thinks this way, any political bloc wishing
to take a lead in the discussions over constitutional reform should reflect
carefully over the lessons learned from past failures of the amendment process
and ensure that they are not repeated. The Taipei Society and the Taiwan Law Society held a joint press conference
recently and noted that in the 1997 round of Constitutional amendments, public
opinion and debate were totally rejected. The Taipei Society asked that greater
effort be put into gathering public input on proposed amendments, conducting the
process on the basis of the "five noes and three imperatives." The five noes refer to no secret negotiations, no hidden trade offs, no
strategic calculations, no obfuscation, and no party precedent over public
opinion. The three imperatives are transparency of information, open discussion
and public scrutiny. The Taipei Society emphasized that the design of the
Constitution is not a private matter for political parties. Public discussion at
an early stage is necessary so that people can better understand Constitutional
issues and the pros and cons of various proposals. The public should be
encouraged to participate. Only in this way can a consciousness of citizenship
be developed and the Taiwanese people become the masters of their country. If
the new constitution is to receive wider support from the public and achieve its
goal of protecting human rights, it cannot be left to those within the structure
of government. The EU recently passed a draft of its constitution. Its second chapter is
dedicated to the human rights that member nations must adhere to. The chapter,
with 54 articles, is one of the most comprehensive expressions of human rights
ever drafted. Europe is the cradle of modern constitutional government. It has now
cemented the concept of human rights, making it a core principle of modern
constitutional government. This should inspire Taiwan and demonstrate a
successful way of forging a closer link between the people and the Constitution
that protects their rights. The lessons of history come when we least expect them. In 1997, Hsu
Hsin-liang, then chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party, supported a
presidential system, but turned to promoting a Cabinet-style system after the
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) failed in its 2000 election bid, we saw once
again how undesirable it is to have constitutional amendments driven by
politicians. If Taiwan's new constitution is to have real vitality, it must be closely
related to ordinary people and their rights. Only a constitution of this nature
will benefit the people and the country. Ku
Chung-hwa is a professor of sociology at National Chengchi University.
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