`319' committee problems on Oct 09, 2004

Protesters besiege `319' committee as they visit Tainan

By Jimmy Chuang
STAFF REPORTER , WITH AGENCIES

Protesters yesterday surrounded the Tainan District Prosecutors' Office and tried to prevent the special task force investigating the shooting of the president from entering the building.

March 19 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee Spokeswoman Wang Ching-fong visited chief prosecutor Kuo Chen-ni, prosecutor Wang San-jung and their staff at around 2pm and left around 5:30pm.

Neither the committee nor the Tainan District Prosecutors' Office disclosed the details of their conversation during the meeting.

As the meeting took place, screaming protesters attacked police officers and tried to break into the prosecutors' office, throwing raw eggs and other items at the police.

No major injuries were reported.

In addition to protesters, politicians from both the pan-blue and pan-green camps -- a number of whom are campaigning in the year-end legislative elections -- joined the fracas.

"I would urge the public to calm down and let law enforcement officers do their jobs," said Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan.

Prior to Wang Ching-fong's visit to the office, the committee also invited the National Police Agency's Criminal Investigation Bureau Commissioner Hou You-yi to its Taipei office to brief committee members.

Hou did not show up and did not give an excuse for his absence. However, Wang Ching-fong said Hou's absence was not surprising.

"He [Hou] must have been suffering from political pressure from his superior officers and decided not to come. That I understand, and I forgive him," Wang Ching-fong said. "But, I am still sorry about his decision."

According to Wang Ching-fong, she called the bureau for confirmation of Hou's plan to attend the meeting previously, and "everything seemed to be fine" when she called.

"In addition to confirmation of his attendence, the officer who talked to me also asked me what kind of documents or evidence the committee would need when it met with Hou," Wang Ching-fong said. "But, Hou eventually decided to be absent."

In response to the committee's statement, Kao Cheng-sheng, the bureau's deputy commissioner, spoke on behalf of Hou and said that for this case, the bureau would obey whatever orders or directions were given by the Tainan District Prosecutors' Office.

If prosecutors ask them to cooperate with the committee, they will do so, Kao said.

"When our forensic analysis was done, we transferred everything to the Tainan prosecutors. As a result, our investigation is currently under their jurisdiction," Kao said.

In addition, Kao also said that police officers could be impeached by the Control Yuan in the future for their cooperation with committee members, if the Council of Grand Justices determines that the committee is illegal.

"The situation is not fair for the police," he said.

"Until the law is fixed, I think most police officers will try to protect themselves, first," Kao added.

Rectify 'China' to rectify 'Taiwan'

By Paul Lin

Because of China's incessant oppression of Taiwan, a variety of names for the country have emerged -- including Taiwan, the Republic of China (ROC), Formosa, Taiwan-Penghu-Kinmen-Matsu and Chinese Taipei. The diversity of the country's names has caused confusion among its own people, not to mention foreigners. Some countries which are not familiar with the complexities of the names are likely to make mistakes and cause embarrassment during a diplomatic trip of Taiwan's -- and China's -- top officials. This chaotic situation has severely damaged the people's national identity.

There is similar confusion about China's name. It has been called "Red China" and "Communist China." But now there is consensus in international society to simply use the name "China." Nevertheless, Taiwan still addresses China in various ways. In the past, the most commonly used name was "Chung Kung," which, strictly speaking, refers to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rather than a national administration. Maybe "Chung Kung" can be better understood as a backward construction of "Communist China," or as a conflation of party and state entity. Also, some people call China the "Chinese mainland," the "mainland," or even the "inland."

Since China insists on its "one China" policy, the name "China" has become its unique designation. As a result, more and more Taiwanese people use the name "China" for the sake of showing respect to the Chinese government. But some Taiwanese people are not only unwilling to make such a concession, but want to fight over the title and legitimacy of "China" -- so they still use "Chung Kung" or "the mainland" although these are not very precise terms.

Apart from connoting the unity of party and state, "Chung Kung" can negatively imply a single "party-state" entity. The character "Kung" has a negative association and its use is avoided in China. Almost no one will accept being labeled as "Chin Kung [affiliating to the CCP]." Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan scolded a Taiwan reporter for using the "obsolete" term "communist China," during the 2001 APEC forum in Shanghai. Given that China doesn't want to be labeled as "Chung Kung," some reporters often use "the mainland" instead when asking questions. The problem is that "the mainland" is simply a geographic term. How can we use it as a nation's title?

One Chinese media outlet actually called the CCP Central Committee the "mainland central" committee, and it also -- ridiculously -- referred to 1930s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-ruled as "mainland central." These types of names ignore the differences between a political party and a region. Another example is the recent newspaper headline that used the phrase "mainland Fujian Province." If that usage is justified, should there also be a "Taiwan Fujian Province" or "Chinese Taipei Fujian Province?"

Rectifying the name of Taiwan is a process that has constantly been suppressed by China. Of course there are disagreements within Taiwan on this issue, and the US is not particularly understanding of the country's predicament. In these circumstances, Premier Yu Shyi-kun recently suggested the consistent use of "China" to avoid confusion. Shouldn't China accept this friendly gesture? If Chinese people don't recognize their national entity as "China," then what does their "one China" policy stand for? Would the "mainland government," and the "mainland flag" sound better to represent the great "mainland country?"

But the Chinese government is reluctant to accept Taiwan's goodwill on this issue. This is similar to China's response in 1987, when Taiwan lifted martial law. Despite our friendliness, China wasn't grateful. Instead, it continued to emphasize its view that Taiwan is a part of China, and hoped that Taiwan would launch a war against it. When Taiwan did not do this, China began its campaign of military threats. Only a psychologically abnormal government, which doesn't speak for its people and tramples on human rights, is interested in wars and continuously makes war a topic of debate to distract the public. The Chinese government is such a government.

Since Taiwan cannot yet rectify its own name, it must settle for second best and rectify China's name, to clarify the distinction between the two. This not only strengthens national identity, but also makes the world gradually recognize Taiwan.

Paul Lin is a political commentator based in New York.

Sovereignty issue must be resolved

By Chao Chien-min

To allay China's fury over his private trip to Taiwan this summer before becoming Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong said that his country will not support Taiwan should it declare formal independence from mainland China. Indeed, no country will, declared Lee.

This diplomatic blow occurred at roughly the same time that Taiwan was failing -- for the 13th time -- in its bid to re-enter the UN, having withdrawn when China was admitted in 1971. When Taiwanese athletes competed in the recent Athens Olympics, advertisements supporting the team were removed. Returning home from a trip to three Central American allies, Premier Yu Shyi-kun's entourage was forced to transit in Okinawa to escape the effects of Typhoon Aere, inciting a protest from China against Japan's government.

Such symbolic politics forms a key part of the mainland's relentless effort to isolate Taiwan internationally. To display its displeasure at Lee Hsien Loong's visit, China's government warned Singapore that a bilateral free-trade deal might be in jeopardy. Commenting on Taiwan's UN application, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan demanded that Taipei stop pursuing its "two Chinas" policy.

China's diplomatic offensive against Taiwan escalated in early August, when President Hu Jintao telephoned US President George W. Bush to demand a halt to the sale of advanced weapons to Taiwan. Hu told Bush that the Taiwan issue was "very sensitive," and that China would "absolutely not tolerate Taiwan independence."

As a result of such pressure, Taiwan has become the most isolated country in modern history. This is all the more glaring in view of its economic and political success. Indeed, that anomaly, if not rectified, is increasingly dangerous.

Frustrated by a lack of recognition, popular disgust in Taiwan with terms like "China" and "Chinese" is rising. So is support for distinct countries on each side of the Taiwan Strait.

Although opinion polls indicate that a majority still supports the status quo, many are beginning to believe that if the country's official name, the Republic of China, is not acceptable to the international community, then another name might be.

Millions of people took to the streets during the presidential election last March to demand a name change.

The latest source of contention -- both on the domestic front and in relations with China -- concerns whether to write a new constitution. Enacted in Nanjing before the Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government resettled in Taipei after the Chinese Civil War of the 1940s, Taiwan's Constitution is considered by some an anachronism, unfit for a democracy with a population of more than 23 million.

Within Taiwan, the debate over constitutional reform has led to disturbing developments. Most worrying, it has heightened tensions between Taiwan's various ethnic groups over national identity and relations with China.

Of course, Taiwan's strained relations with China have suffered further as a result, with China's government denouncing calls for a new constitution as a calculated move towards independence. China's Taiwan Affairs Office issued a warning on the eve of President Chen Shui-bian's inauguration in May, trying to force Taipei to choose between war and peace.

Alarmed by a potential conflict between the two archrivals, the Bush administration urged Chen, who won a second term in March, to exercise restraint. Consequently, in his inauguration speech on May 20, Chen promised to amend the constitution via the current mechanism, rather than adopting an entirely new constitution via referendum.

But the passage of recent constitutional reforms by the Legislative Yuan illustrates the continuing volatility of the situation. In addition to replacing the multi-member-district, single-vote electoral system with a single-member-district, two-vote system, the amendment reduces the number of seats in the legislature by half.

The reforms have been lauded as a crucial step towards a more stable two-party system. Similarly, a higher electoral threshold for winning seats should counter vote buying by candidates.

For China, however, the reforms are a smoke screen by Taiwan's government. China fears that the government still wants to write a new constitution -- one from which Taiwanese independence would be derived. This senseless political warfare has hampered cross-strait economic relations. Bilateral trade turnover reached US$50 billion last year, and Taiwanese took almost 4 million trips to China. It is imperative for both economies that direct transport links be established immediately.

But, here, too, political sensitivities loom large. China wants the link defined as domestic in nature, with rights reserved exclusively to airlines registered on either side, while Taiwan insists that services be open to foreign competition.

Thus does the fight over sovereignty overshadow all bilateral issues. Indeed, with China bent on unification, it refuses even to define relations with Taiwan as "bilateral," while China's growing global influence suggests that Taiwan's diplomatic fortunes are not about to improve.

That, however, may merely strengthen support in Taiwan for independence as the only way out.

Chien-min Chao is professor of politics at National Chengchi University. He writes extensively on subjects concerning cross-strait relations and Chinese politics.

Keep out China's propaganda
In a questioning session in the legislature on Thursday, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Lo Chih-ming said that Chinese radio stations want to begin joint broadcasts in Taiwan by cooperating with local radio stations, and that there is a possibility of Chinese capital entering Taiwan during the current reorganization of broadcasting licenses. Government Information Office Director Lin Chia-lung verified that China indeed intends to use middlemen to apply for permission to set up radio stations here, purchase badly managed radio stations and use joint broadcasts or buy air time to broadcast pro-unification programs. Lin called on people to clearly recognize that China's unification strategy includes entering Taiwanese households and the minds of Taiwanese people through the media.

The rumor that Chinese capital is entering Taiwanese media is yesterday's news. When some badly managed media suddenly receive injections of overseas capital, it's worth investigating whether these injections include Chinese capital. There are also concrete examples of Hong Kong capital entering Taiwanese media in recent years. After Hong Kong's return to China, the former British colony has been thoroughly under Chinese control. Hong Kong capital is now in effect Chinese capital. We must not let down our guard just because we are dealing with Hong Kong capital. The government should check carefully whether Chinese capital has entered the country while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has been selling off its assets.

China has made every effort to infiltrate Taiwan's media in order to provide cover for its propaganda campaign. Many Taiwanese media organizations already lean toward China. If Beijing directly entered the market, the consequences for Taiwan's media environment are unthinkable. The government must therefore prepare for this, so as not to be caught flat-footed once the Chinese gain access to our homes.

The democratic, free, diverse, open and wealthy country of Taiwan is the envy of many Chinese people, who are eager to come here -- legally or illegally -- to make money. This has already become a beacon for China's development, and a tool for us in resisting annexation by China.

The content of China's propaganda is not as vivid and attractive as Taiwan's media content, and so there isn't much of a market for it here. We are not afraid of such propaganda, and are confident we can counteract its effects. Nevertheless, this free and diverse society may offer loopholes through which Beijing can attack us. In particular, the free-market nature of Taiwan's media -- which is open to domestic and foreign capital -- is the nation's Achilles' heel.

Buying up Taiwanese media organizations and changing the media environment from the inside is much more cost-effective and direct than propaganda campaigns as a way of influencing the public. Entering the Taiwanese media using Hong Kong capital as a prelude to directly manipulating the Taiwanese media is a new front in China's unification campaign. Therefore, when it comes to Hong Kong or Chinese investment in the media, we should not be concerned only with free-market principles.

Beijing is perfectly aware that after its failure in Hong Kong, "one country, two systems" has no appeal here. Even so, China hopes to use the same model as it used with Hong Kong to annex Taiwan. China is seeking to replicate the conditions that existed prior to the 1997 handover of Hong Kong in order to stage-manage a rerun of the "peaceful transition of power."

Fighting the decisive battle outside your own borders is a strategy that is as suited to propaganda as it is to military deployment. If we are to counter this deployment of propaganda, we must not allow China to bring the unification battle into our country, our homes and our minds. Only in this way can we ensure our long-term security.

Lee defends constitutional reform plan

`OUT OF DATE': The former president told a group of US academics and officials that he beleived it was time to change the Constitution and talked about Taiwan's sovereignty

By Caroline Hong and Jewel Huang
STAFF REPORTERS

Former president Lee Teng-hui yesterday evening gave a speech in English to US officials and academics who were in Washington via a videoconference, in which he said it was high time to "save Taiwan" by writing a new constitution, and that sovereignty issues are the main flaws with Taiwan's Constitution.

"This Constitution does not meet the needs of present day Taiwan. In fact, it is completely out of date, not practical, not reasonable and not suitable," Lee said yesterday night, saying that the current "Constitution of the Republic of China" as promulgated in 1947 still claims to include the territories and the people of both China and Mongolia, in addition to Taiwan.

"A constitution is the supreme legal manifestation of national sovereignty. Taiwan's Constitution must be made collectively by the 23 million people of Taiwan in order to be suitable to this island nation. This new constitution must be able to protect our own national sovereignty, but at the same time, not infringe upon the sovereignty of other nations," Lee said.

Staunchly upholding his belief in a democratic Taiwanese nation, Lee said that the current Constitution is a barrier to an accurate portrayal of Taiwan's national identity and people, and affirmed his long-lasting support for a change of Taiwan's national title.

"The `Republic of China' is an obstacle to the normalization of Taiwan as a country and an unsuitable title, one that our people cannot use in the international community. Taiwan is Taiwan -- a name that matches the reality. A new Taiwanese constitution must move in this course in order to have lasting relevance," said Lee yesterday.

"The fictitious title of the Republic of China must be abandoned so as not to infringe upon China's sovereignty. Likewise, Taiwan must insist upon and protect its own sovereignty," Lee said, implying that peaceful relations with China, and Taiwanese participation in the international scene, can only begin when negotiations are held between China and Taiwan under terms of mutual respect for each others' sovereignty.

At a time when the Taiwanese people have increasingly come to realize the importance of their national identity and take pride in Taiwan's history, Taiwan should enact a new constitution to codify and safeguard its newfound democracy, Lee said.

Lee said that the Constitution must be rewritten, for there are too many flaws with the current version to be amended, Lee said.

Praising the maturity of Taiwan's democratic state, Lee also stressed that a push for a new constitution would allow the people to participate in Taiwan's political reform.

"Under Taiwan's new democratic system, the process of drafting and adopting a new constitution would be discussed and debated openly by all the people. This would show the world that Taiwan is truly democratic," said Lee yesterday.

At the end of his speech yesterday, Lee urged that a new constitution is also fundamental to upholding Taiwan's democracy.

"Having a new constitution is a goal of the people of Taiwan; it is also the right of a democratic citizenry and a basic human right. We hope that our friends in the democratic community can understand and support us," Lee said.

Lee's speech was the opening of the symposium held at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington organized by the Taiwan-based groups Center for Taiwan International Relations and Action for a Taiwanese Constitution. The symposium was named Taiwan's Constitutional Reform and US-Taiwan-China Relations, and included many US-based Asian specialists, officials and people who are concerned about Taiwan's new constitution to participate.