Dead ringer on Sep 27, 2004

Matsu welcomes China's decision to allow tourist visits
CNA , MATSU  

Matsu officials yesterday welcomed a recent decision by China's Fujian Province to allow its residents to make sightseeing trips to Kinmen and Matsu.

Responding to the news, Lienchiang County Commissioner Chen Hsueh-sheng instructed county officials to activate measures already in place aimed at facilitating exchanges, including tourism, between Matsu and China.

Chen welcomed the Fujian authorities' announcement that it will allow citizens to make Kinmen and Matsu-bound tourism trips before the end of this year, saying that this openness reflects the spirit of the "small three links" that Taiwan initiated nearly three years ago aimed at bolstering exchanges between people from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

According to Chen, the Chinese authorities announced on Friday that they will allow 80 to 100 people from Fujian Province to visit Matsu each day for sightseeing purposes.

Taiwan opened direct postal, trade and shipping links between Kinmen and Matsu and Xiamen and Mawei in January 2002.

However, China has up to this point not allowed its citizens to travel to Kinmen and Matsu for leisure trips. So far, only 448 party and government officials of China have visited the two islands -- 165 to Kinmen and 283 to Matsu.

Chen said that he met with Fujian Governor Lu Zhangong during a business promotion trip to Fujian in May and once again pushed China to allow citizens to take holidays in Kinmen and Matsu, taking advantage of the "small three links."

Lienchiang County Council Speaker Chen Chen-ching noted that he has also pushed for sightseeing trips by Chinese to Kinmen and Matsu, and has told Chinese authorities he will do whatever he can to help such trips.

Matsu-based Legislator Tsao Yuan-chang said Fujian's openness on tourism marks a breakthrough in cross-strait relations since the inception of the "small three links."

Web crackdown infringing on freedoms, Ho believes

By Caroline Hong
STAFF REPORTER
 

Recent police crackdowns on those posting Internet ads are overstepping legal boundaries and hampering freedom of speech, a gender rights activist said yesterday.

"The Internet is the only place left where youths can express and explore their sexuality. Today, however, there is a new form of White Terror," said Josephine Ho , an advisor to the Gender Sexuality Rights Association and dean of National Central University's English Department.

"White Terror" refers to the decades-long period of repression and dictatorship by the Chinese Nationalist Party.

Speaking at a forum on Internet culture and sexual relations, Ho called for the public to be aware of the indignities committed by police in their hunt for those soliciting sex on the Internet.

Ho said many Internet users are being manipulated by police into "confessing" that they are looking to buy sex online, using the case of her friend she called "Lin Sang" as an example.

Lin, a clinically depressed older man, was looking for friends online when his ad was answered by a woman. Excited, Lin replied, but was shocked when the woman asked him how much money he wanted. Afraid to turn the woman away, Lin told her that his price was NT$1,000.

When he went to go meet the woman, Ho said, he was taken into custody by police and fined NT$80,000, an amount the unemployed Lin had difficulty raising.

Lin was convicted under Article 29 of the Anti-Sexual Business Provisions for Children and Teenagers.

The article states that distributors of indecent videos, books and pictures over the Internet, TV channels or publications are subject to a sentence of up to five years imprisonment and/or fines of up to NT$1 million.

In contrast, Ho said, an adult found guilty of soliciting or selling sex from another adult in a public place is jailed for three days or fined NT$30,000, in accordance with Article 80 of the Social Order Maintenance Law.

In order to find people selling or soliciting sexual favors on the Internet, police often contact Internet users and attempt to have them make a sexual transaction with an undercover police officer, Ho said.

Once contact is made, Ho said, officers try to get the person to admit guilt by listing a "price" for their services or talking about past sexual transactions.

While some users do use the Internet for sex trafficking, many others who go online are simply using the Web to find romantic relationships or make friends.

"The Internet is a medium of words. People should be punished for actions, not just for talking online," Ho said.

Chen proposes state-of-the-nation report

RATIONAL COMMUNICATION: President Chen Shui-bian yesterday said he is willing to give a first-ever special report on significant national affairs to the Legislative Yuan

By Jewel Huang
STAFF REPORTER

President Chen Shui-bian yesterday announced that he is willing to give a special report on major national affairs to the Legislative Yuan in his office as President. He said he would mention issues like the arms procurement plans, Taiwan's efforts to participate in the UN and cross-strait affairs, expecting to settle political conflicts through rational communication.

Chen made the announcement in his opening speech for the special national congress of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) at the Grand Hotel yesterday.

In a rally later yesterday, celebrating the 18th anniversary of the DPP's founding, Chen said he would accept questions from lawmakers while making the report.

"I am not afraid of debating [with lawmakers] or answering questions. The Constitution clearly states that only the premier must take questions in the Legislative Yuan. Yet I am willing to take questions and debate with any challenger," Chen told the rally.

In response to recent disputes over the government's NT$610.8 billion arms procurement plan, Chen yesterday suggested the Legislative Yuan should arrange a special session as soon as possible to allow him to give a state-of-the-nation report on significant national affairs.

"In order to maintain Taiwan's democracy, freedom and economic prospects, I am willing to make a state-of-the-nation report on the arms procurement plans, Taiwan's participation in the United Nations and cross-strait affairs from my office as president, to the Legislative Yuan according to Article 4-3 in the additional articles to the Constitution," Chen said.

If Chen's suggestion is followed up on, it would be the first time in Taiwan's history that the president reports to the Legislative Yuan since the National Assembly's power was shifted to the Legislative Yuan in 2000.

In his speech, Chen reiterated that protecting Taiwan's national security is the common responsibility of all its people and it is also all people's common interest and obligation to maintain cross-strait peace. He stressed that it is impossible to win peace by disarmament, as "only by preparing against wars can we prevent wars," Chen said.

"Although democracy is the best theater missile defense (TMD), only by enhancing our self-defense ability could we effectively counter and intimidate a potential enemy assault," Chen said.

"Let's together write a new record in Taiwan history that we solve disputes through rational conversation and communication," Chen added.

DPP secretary-general Chang Chun-hsiung yesterday said that Chen's suggestion is an initiative aimed at solving the current political deadlock, as the public and the opposition parties were still unable to discuss significant policies calmly and rationally.

However, Chang said, the Law Governing Legislators' Exercise of Power does not regulate how and when the president should make a report to the legislature.

"Hopefully the Presidential Office and the Legislative Yuan could negotiate the terms of this issue as soon as possible and design a way forward in accordance with our constitutional system."

Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Tseng-chang said that the Presidential Office will issue an official document as soon as possible to ask the Legislative Yuan to dispose of related arrangements for the president's special report.

When asked whether Chen's state-of-the-nation report will be presented in the format of a question-and-answer session in the Legislative Yuan, Su said that the president would not accept questions from legislators.

"This is the ABC of the Constitution. We all know the state-of-the-nation report is different from the legislative question-and-answer sessions," Su said.

At last night's rally, Chen said the purpose of the planned arms procurement was not to wage a war with China, but to be able to deter China from attacking.

"We are not buying weapons to wage a war, but to protect ourselves from being attacked. With the advanced weaponry, if China invaded, we could resist for a while and wait for the Americans' assistance," said Chen.

"If China insisted on waging a war, with the advanced weaponry we intend to buy, it would have to pay the price," Chen said.

US: Know where your interests lie

So far the US diplomat Donald Keyser stands accused only of making an unauthorized trip to Taiwan, a bureaucratic quibble of Lilliputian dimensions. The FBI has hinted, however, that there may be more charges to come, and it has been widely speculated here that these might be seriously damaging to Taiwan-US relations. Yet one of the most revealing things said about the whole case appeared in The New York Times a week ago, where a former State Department official was reported as saying that Keyser would have stuck out in a way he did not had he shown a pro-Taiwan inclination. "I don't know of any senior officials who are pro-Taiwan," the former official was quoted as saying.

We do not know if Keyser was in fact spying for Taiwan. But we can say that it is hard to blame Taiwan if he was. When the staff of the foreign ministry of the world's hyperpower is virtually unanimous in its opposition to your interests, it is certainly useful to know exactly who is saying what to whom. Israel spies in Washington for similar reasons.

What is really needed on the US side, however, is a vigorous reinterpretation of exactly where its interests lie. Some readers commented yesterday on the strong anti-US strain of the protests on Saturday over the special arms budget. "No to the US" and "The US gets the money, we get the debt" were the slogans on a photograph that ran in this newspaper. Another one showed a skit in which Uncle Sam helped Chen Shui-bian strangle the working class. We even wondered if showing such photographs was a wise idea. Would it not, some in the newsroom asked, give the impression that Taiwanese were anti-American?

In the end we decided that it would show the truth -- and ran the pics. And the truth is that some people in Taiwan are anti-American. They are anti-American because they are pro-China. That the US should sell Taiwan weapons with which to defend itself, thereby enabling it to remain independent despite China's aggressive irredentism, angers supporters of Chinese nationalism, who look upon unification with China as a divine mission. They also see it as but one step on the path to China becoming a regional and perhaps global hegemon, in which will figure some settling of old scores, particularly against Japan.

The US has a clear strategic interest in not seeing that hegemony come about. A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would leave China dominating the sea lanes around Japan, US influence in the western Pacific eclipsed and US power severely diminished. Only a decision to actually pull out of the region and leave it as a Chinese "sphere of influence" could make such a truncation of its power acceptable, and we do not think the US is likely to want to do that. So the answer to the question "why should the US care about Taiwan?" is simple enough: because if China takes Taiwan, US regional and perhaps global hegemony stands to go the same way as that of the British Empire. It's that simple.

If the US has a strategic interest in seeing Taiwan remain independent from China, you might expect it to support those forces on Taiwan which share that goal. But so far it hasn't. It is no secret that US policy on Taiwan has tended to be pro-blue. It has favored the Chinese Nationalist Party; Washington wanted Lien Chan to win the presidential election both in 2000 and 2004 and the Democratic Progressive Party and President Chen Shui-bian have been regularly castigated as "troublemakers" and "hotheads" whose behavior might provoke conflict with China.

There is here a staggering contradiction. Washington needs to understand that its friends in the pan-blue camp were toting the anti-US banners on Saturday, while the "hotheads" in fact want what the US wants -- the continuation of Taiwan's independent status. It is, therefore, high time that the US began to understand where its interests lie and who supports those interests, and to show some support for those supporters. George W. Bush slapped down Chen last December over plans to "change the status quo" -- which Chen had, in fact, never made -- in a manner that could have cost Chen the election. Who then would be in power today? The crowd airing their anti-US feelings on Saturday. So here's a message to the Americans: It's time to rethink your priorities. Try to understand who your real allies are.

Beware Beijing's false friendship

By Li Thian-hok 

At the close of the Fourth Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) Central Committee on Sept. 19, Jiang Zemin handed over the chairmanship of the party's Central Military Commission (CMC) to President Hu Jintao. Hu replaced Jiang as CCP General Secretary in November 2002 and as China's president in March last year. This final transfer of power symbolized a peaceful ascension of a younger, better-educated fourth generation of Chinese leadership.

Jiang's resignation is reportedly due to his poor health. He has been suffering from a heart ailment since 1989. Contrary to weeks of speculation prior to the Central Committee assembly, Jiang's protege Vice President Zeng Qinghong was not made a vice chairman of the CMC. Zeng, in fact, did not even become a member of the CMC. Instead, General Xu Caihou joined two others as vice chairmen of the CMC. The number of regular members of the commission was expanded from four to seven, adding representatives from the navy, air force and the Second Artillery -- the unit in charge of China's nuclear arsenal. The expansion of the CMC is obviously intended to enhance the joint force capabilities of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in anticipation of a war against Taiwan.

Despite his retirement, Jiang may retain influence on major foreign policy and national security decisions, especially with regard to Taiwan. Jiang has contributed to the modernization and professionalization of the PLA, managed to sever the PLA from its earlier commercial enterprises and has substantially built up the PLA's capacity to take Taiwan by force. He is responsible for promoting many high-level officers in the PLA. Both the CMC and the Standing Committee of the Politburo have many officials who owe their advancement to Jiang.

China's strategy of annexing Taiwan is not likely to change in the near term as a result of Hu's assumption of full powers. Beijing would want to assess the outcome of the US presidential election in November and Taiwan's Legislative Yuan elections in December. Hu also needs to solidify his relationship with the PLA, just as Jiang did earlier. Hu needs to build his own network of loyal officers across military regions. Here General Xu Caihou would be an invaluable asset to Hu, since Xu played a critical role in all personnel decisions in the PLA, including all senior-level promotions. Once Hu is confident of PLA support, he would be in a position to reappraise and revise China's policy toward Taiwan.

The Jiang-Hu power struggle was basically about the division of the spoils: which side gets a greater share of powerful positions and who gets control over coveted financial resources. There were also differences on domestic policy. Whereas Jiang stressed rapid economic development centered on the coastal provinces and especially around Shanghai, Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao want to invest in the impoverished hinterland and try to improve the lot of the peasants and workers.

However, what unites both camps is far more important than what divides them. Both camps agree on the major directions China needs to follow.

First, continue the market-oriented rapid economic development, to create a wealthy nation with a powerful military. Second, pursue an expansionist geostrategic goal of first annexing Taiwan, then scuttling the US-Japan military alliance and eventually turning Japan and the Koreas into China's vassal states. The CCP, the PLA and the Chinese public are all driven by an ingrained sense of aggrieved nationalism and believe China is destined to become not just the hegemon of Asia but also a great civilization, rivaling the US in power and prestige.

Third, to achieve the above ends, the CCP must continue to monopolize political power and reject Western notions of democracy. The theme of the Central Committee plenum, in fact, was how to enhance the CCP's ability to rule an increasingly restless Chinese society. So what will be the likely impact of Hu's ascendancy on China's strategy of absorbing Taiwan?

Jiang followed a rigid hardline stance, humiliating Taiwan at every opportunity. Despite his outward appearance, Hu is just as tough -- witness his merciless suppression of dissidents while he was governor of Tibet. Hu would not hesitate to invade Taiwan if he concludes the PLA can coerce Taiwan into submission quickly before the US can intervene. US forces will be bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan for some time to come. This period could present China with an ideal window of opportunity to launch a surprise attack against Taiwan.

However, the Hu-Wen team may be able to adopt a carrot and stick approach to Taiwan, once Hu manages to command the respect of the PLA. For example, Beijing is keenly interested in implementing the three direct links in mail, transport and trade between China and Taiwan. The direct links will deepen Taiwan's economic dependence on China and help marginalize Taiwan's economy. Direct links will also open Taiwan's door further to infiltration by China's intelligence agents and special forces operatives. China's Trojan Horse will thus be well-positioned to launch subversive activities and an assault on Taiwan's political leadership, military facilities and key infrastructure in conjunction with an all-out multi-pronged blitzkrieg against Taiwan.

Until now China has insisted that any dialogue between Taiwan be preconditioned on Taiwan's acceptance of the "one China" principle, which sees Taiwan as part of China's territory. A more confident Hu regime will be able to adopt a flexible approach to entice Taipei into the direct links trap. In fact, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council issued an official document last December emphasizing that the "three direct links" is purely an economic matter and political differences between the two sides should not be used as a pretext for obstructing its implementation. It suggested that non-governmental trade organizations conduct negotiations.

If Beijing finds a way to avoid labeling the direct links as an internal affair of China, it is possible the Taiwan government may actually pursue the direct links with China, under pressure from businesspeople heavily invested in China, the pan-blue opposition parties and the pro-unification media. Implementation of the direct links would, unfortunately, sound the death knell for a democratic Taiwan which is independent of China's political control.

In conclusion, the Hu-Wen government will pose a greater threat to Taiwan's freedom, because while continuing to build up its capacity to overwhelm Taiwan by force, it will also present a smiling face, make inconsequential goodwill gestures to Taiwan (such as allowing Taiwan to gain observer status in the WHO) and fool the Taiwanese into committing suicidal acts.

On Sept. 20, while meeting model military personnel at the Presidential Office, President Chen Shui-bian cautioned against wishful thinking and unrealistic expectations from Hu's ascendancy to the head of the CMC. He's right. Taipei should be on guard: a false, smiling friend is more deadly than a forthright enemy.

Li Thian-hok is a freelance commentator based in Pennsylvania.

For peace, prepare for war

By Eugene Liu

The Democratic Action Alliance was one of the principle organizers of Saturday's "peace rally" held to protest the government's US$18.25 billion arms procurement deal with the US. The purchase will strengthen Taiwan's military defenses with eight diesel-electric submarines, six PAC-3 anti-missile systems and 12 P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. The interest group is borrowing vocal opposition to the procurement plan from academics to advance its agenda.

Let's debunk the actions and words of the Democratic Action Alliance and its supporters, shall we?

First, promoting the protest as a "peace rally" is misleading. As a concerned citizen, I think the proponents of the arms purchase are pro-peace because they understand the heightened national security threat that comes not only from Taiwan's aggressive neighbor, but also from a weak and outdated military. China has always been a threat, and will only become a greater threat in the future.

The Chen administration has, on several occasions, offered an olive branch to Beijing, but only got insults and disappointment in return. And if there can be no peaceful dialogue between Taipei and Beijing, then one has to assume aggression is forthcoming. A sound defense is therefore critical to protect the nation.

Second, National Taiwan University's professor Huang Kuang-kuo authored the alliance's manifesto against arms procurement. The NTU psychology professor said: "Arms procurement cannot ensure the safety of Taiwan." Well, at least it'll level the playing field. We all know what will ensure the safety of Taiwan: the unconditional surrender to Chinese rule. But that's not what we want, is it? Strengthening the military is the next best option for securing the nation.

Third, the alliance whines that the arms deal violates the "spirit of democracy." Democracy is defined as "government by the people, either directly or through elected representatives," and Taiwan's government (as well as most other world democracies) is clearly the latter. Our elected representatives in the Legislature voice our concerns regarding bills and statues. That's what you do when you cast the ballot. Perhaps the alliance can elaborate on how it defines democracy?

Fourth, opponents always argue about arms procurement at the expense of social welfare. A strong military can only be sustained if there's a strong economy and vice versa, as we have witnessed during the Cold War; when the US outlasted the Soviet Union economically, later bringing about the collapse of the Communist government. Where will you work or where will your family get medical care when a Chinese invasion completely destroys Taiwan? We should aim to grow a strong army, navy, and air force, then we will deal with the rest, as we are a freedom-loving and hard-working people.

People like me are labeled "hawks" or "war mongers," but the threat of an invasion of Taiwan is very real. Beijing continues to actively deploy coastal missiles and modernize its military, and any reasonable person can understand why. Domestic social issues are crucial indeed, but they mean nothing if future generations cannot live freely.

Eugene Liu  Atlanta