Washington tells China to talk to Chen

TOEING THE LINE: US government officials are now in agreement regarding Lien Chan's meeting with the Chinese president, saying that Beijing must speak to Chen

By Charles Snyder

STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON

The US State Department has fallen into line with the White House in urging China to talk directly with President Chen Shui-bian to settle cross-strait issues peacefully, according to statements made by US officials.

Meanwhile, the White House again expressed the hope that the meeting between Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan and Chinese President Hu Jintao will lead to dialogue between Beijing and Chen's "duly elected" government.

"We urge Beijing to reach out to President Chen and his Cabinet," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Friday.

"Any long-term solution can only be found if Beijing negotiates with the duly elected leadership in Taiwan," he said in response to a question about the department's reaction to the Lien-Hu meeting.

The language echoes that used by White House Spokesman Scott McClellan on Wednesday.

Previously, the department's spokesmen had welcomed and said it supported the visits to China by Lien and other members of the pan-blue alliance, but did not mention Chen or urge China to talk with him.

Following Wednesday's statement by McClellan, the department has apparently added the call for talks with Chen to its official litany on cross-strait dialogue. McClellan, meanwhile, Friday repeated his comments made on Wednesday.

"We believe that it's most important that there be dialogue between Chinese leaders and the elected representatives of the government of Taiwan," he told his daily press briefing.

"And so we would hope that this would be a sign that China will continue to move forward on a dialogue with President Chen and members of his government, which is the duly elected government in Taiwan," he said.

He also seemed to support the Lien visit, saying, "We welcome dialogue between China and leaders in Taiwan."

Asked about Beijing's refusal so far to talk with Chen, McClellan added, "we'll continue working with the parties in the region and continue to encourage them to engage in dialogue to promote peace and stability in the region."

For his part, Ereli declined repeatedly to comment on the specific points raised in the Lien-Hu meeting, saying only that the State Department sees Lien's trip in the "broad context" that "dialogue is in the interests of both sides to achieve a peaceful resolution of their differences in a manner that is acceptable to both."

He also declined to get drawn into a discussion of Lien's motives in his trip, and whether Lien's intention was to advance peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues or to divide Taiwan politically and undercut Chen.

Asked directly whether China's reaching out to the Taiwan opposition is a matter of concern for Washington, Ereli said:

"It's a process that we can support, it's a process that we can encourage, and it's a process that we can try to help the sides work toward."

"But it clearly requires a will and initiative and steps that they take themselves. It is not something that we can control or force. But we can certainly lend our influence and our voice to help move things in that direction, which we are doing," he said.

Ereli dodged a question of whether Washington supports the resumption of cross-strait talks on the basis of the "1992 consensus," which Hu and Lien agreed should be the case.

In Taipei, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) urged the Chinese government to take a pragmatic approach in dealing with the Taiwanese government.

Taking note of US officials' remarks in the wake of Lien's meeting with Hu, Presidential Office Spokesman Chen Wen-tsung yesterday said China should deal directly with the government if it wants to resolve the dispute between the two sides of the Strait.

"We have stressed several times that cross-strait problems can be resolved only through government-to-government dialogue and consultation," the spokesman said. "The Beijing authorities should deal with the DPP government pragmatically."

The Presidential Office yesterday also called on Beijing to cease harboring its "United Front" mindset against Taiwan.

The "United Front" refers to tactics and efforts employed by Beijing aimed at extending its influence in Taiwan to aid unification.

Additional reporting by Huang Tai-lin

EU plans to meet with US to hash out China policy

REUTERS, BRUSSELS

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will start a strategic dialogue with the US about managing the emergence of China when he visits Washington for talks this week, diplomats said on Friday.

Solana's office announced that he would meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley from tomorrow to Wednesday. He is also to address the House of Representatives International Affairs Committee.

The EU and the US are at odds over moves to lift a European arms embargo on China, imposed after the crushing of a pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

The Europeans have put their plans on hold because of Chain's recent adoption of the “Anti-Secession” Law threatening force if Taiwan declares independence, and in response to fierce opposition from Washington and Japan.

The US Congress has threatened to retaliate by freezing European countries out of military technology sharing if they lift the arms ban, while the Europeans swear they don't plan to sell any more weapons and just want to remove a diplomatic stigma.

EU foreign ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on April 15, said it was up to Beijing to make gestures on easing tensions with Taiwan and improving human rights, notably by releasing political prisoners held since 1989.

EU diplomats said Solana hoped to defuse tension over the issue by starting a brader, regular transatlantic dialogue about how to integrate China’s growing economic, political and military power into a cooperative international system.

He is also expected to discuss plans for an international conference to support Iraq's new government, to be hosted jointly by the EU and the US in Brussels late next month－a symbol of common purpose after bitter transatlantic rifts over the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The diplomats said Solana would also discuss efforts to bring peace to Sudan's troubled Darfur region and to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he is on a peace mission.

Lu weighs in on Lien-Hu meeting

By Huang Tai-lin

STAFF REPORTER

Vice President Annette Lu yesterday blasted Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's rhetoric and actions in China as undermining Taiwan's overall interests.

Lien's trip to China weakened Taiwan's government, polarized the Taiwanese people, demeaned national sovereignty and created an illusion on an international stage, the vice president said. Her criticism came one day after the meeting between Lien and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

During their more than two hour meeting in Beijing on Friday, the two agreed to a five-point "vision for cross-strait peace" based on the so-called "1992 consensus."

"Despite this situation, a demand for the removal of the ballistic missiles was not mentioned in the conversation between Chairman Lien and Mr. Hu, who merely talked about `peace.' This kind of vision of `peace' without substantial content reminds me of Zhang Ying," Lu said, referring to a Chinese "magic healer," who, while visiting Taiwan in 2000, claimed she could produce medicine out of thin air.

Zhang was found guilty of fraud in 2002 and sentenced to one year and two months in prison.

Lu said that Lien, despite having served as vice president and premier in Taiwan, had avoided mentioning these facts during his speech at Peking University, nor did he mention the term "Republic of China" (ROC) at all, except when he laid a wreath at Sun Yat-sen's mausoleum in Nanjing.

"The Beijing authorities are the only people in the world who wish to wipe out the ROC," Lu said. "Lien, being the ROC's opposition party leader, who proclaims often he will safeguard the ROC's sovereignty, dared not speak about China's violation of human rights, but twisted Taiwan's democracy as populism in his speech in Peking University."

"When he was asked `what is the thing he wishes to do first upon returning to Taiwan,' he replied that he `hopes all could identify with the country.' To make that statement in Beijing, it is worth contemplating what country he was referring to," the vice president said in a speech at a Lion's Club meeting in Taipei.

She also dismissed the so-called "1992 consensus" on the "one China" principle mentioned in a news statement released after the Lien-Hu talks as non-existent.

Lu then called on the nation's people to heed the situation, stressing that the ROC is an independent, sovereign state whose sovereign rights belong to its 23 million people, and that any changes to the state quo can only be determined by its people.

Lien, Soong are `fools,' Lee says

IDENTITY CRISIS: Lien Chan's visit to China, as well as James Soong's forthcoming visit, hurt efforts to instill a national consciousness, Lee said

By Ko Shu-ling

STAFF REPORTER

Calling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan a "fool," former president Lee Teng-hui yesterday said that only President Chen Shui-biancan solve cross-strait problems, and not "unrelated" people.

"To stop the harsh criticism voiced by the international community against the `Anti-Secession' Law, China drags over two fools from Taiwan to have a talk," he said. "The five-point agreement reached between Lien and Chinese President Hu Jinta does not help solve anything. President Chen, who represents the people of Taiwan, is the only one who has the power to untie the knots of the tangled cross-strait impasse."

Lee made the remarks yesterday morning while launching his new book, entitled New Era Taiwanese.

The proceeds of the sale of the 124-page pocket book yesterday and today will go to those injured during a violent brawl after pro-independence groups protesting Lien's China trip clashed with pro-unification supporters at CKS International Airport on Tuesday. Fifteen people with injured in the tussle.

Lee said that his book was inspired by the nation's adverse political climate. He also feels that a "new Taiwanese" concept, which he coined and promoted since 1898, has been abused by some politicians since the Democratic Progressive Party took power in 2000.

"The crux of Taiwan's problem does not lie in ethnicity but in national identification," he said. "Let's not label ourselves as Mainlander, Taiwanese, Hoklo, Hakka or Aboriginal, because we are all `new era Taiwanese.'"

While Lee said that it is sad to be Taiwanese, he called on the public to work with the government to remove the obstacles on the road to democratization and end what he called the "era of sadness."

Before speaking at the book launching ceremony, Lee emphasized the importance of political stability during a speech delivered to students of the Lee Teng-hui Academy and its youth leader programs.

Lee said that the so-called five-point "vision for cross-strait peace" made by Lien and Hu is nothing but a sugarcoated lie and part of China's unification strategy aimed at dividing the Taiwanese people.

"The flower of the peaceful democratic revolution, which blossomed after the transfer of power in 2000, withers overnight because of the domination of opposition forces in the legislature. This problem is compounded by China's strenuous efforts to split up the nation," Lee said.

Due to centuries of foreign domination, the former president also said that Taiwanese people lack a sense of the nation's historical, geographical, economic and cultural evolution and that the problem is worrisome.

"All foreign regimes are afraid of the rise of local awareness and consciousness. The same theory applies to Taiwan," he said. "Many Taiwanese don't have much of a national consciousness and are confused about who they are. This is a very serious problem."

Lee also said that he hopes the programs his academy provides will help participants better understand the nation and love this land, as well as purge the educational venom left by the former KMT administration, which promoted the "greater China" ideology.

While Taiwan is a democratic country, Lee said that it is not yet a normal country. The reason for stopping Taiwan from becoming a normal country does not lie in the ethnic problems but in national identification.

"If the national identification problem cannot be effectively tackled, I'm afraid that our democratic development is bound to weaken and the political climate deteriorate," he said.

There's a new flu in town

By Marc Plumb

Health authorities in Taiwan yesterday released a statement confirming a dangerous outbreak of a new bird-flu disease dubbed "Cuckoo Bird Flu" (CBF).

Unlike the H5N1 virus strain found in China, Vietnam and Thailand which affects the lungs and respiratory system, the CBF strain has only been confirmed in Taiwan and is more closely related to CJD, or "brain-wasting disease." Symptoms include delusional feelings of power and grandeur, audacity, arrogance, childlike behavior and a weakening backbone. While asleep, victims are often heard mumbling, "It's not fair, it's not fair."

Several victims have developed a unique facial expression which health authorities liken to a loser's smirk. The disease is believed to have evolved from dogs eating dogs.

Health authorities fear that almost 49 percent of the Taiwanese population has been exposed to CBF to different degrees. The only known treatment for CBF is large doses of reality and exposure to the public will, but authorities fear treatment has not been sought by most of the victims. Health authorities, under their own guidance -- since access to World Heath Organization databases is blocked for political reasons -- are stating that only a mass evacuation to China or mass culling of the victims will contain this deadly flu.

Long-term repercussions of the condition include the loss of the ability to speak, to exercise government control, to worship and to collect tax revenue.

All hail `dictator' Lien

By Lee Long-hwa

Tail between his legs, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan, a would-be dictator of Taiwan and two-time loser, is going to China to grovel before the dictator of China. Together they have been and will continue to plot against the free and independent, democratic government of Taiwan, all in the name of power. Power of China over democratic Taiwan, and dictatorship by Lien's KMT over Taiwan all over again.

If there was any doubt about what the KMT's intentions for Taiwan were, there should be none now. Lien, thinking he can fool all of the people all of the time, refers to his visit as a "journey of peace," but given China's ground rules for the meeting, it is actually a mission of surrender. Only if Lien accepts China's "one China" principle can he have access to the emperor's chamber, which he foolishly believes holds the key to his Taiwan kingdom.

When Lien met with Li Yuanchao, the Communist Party chief of Jiangsu Province, Li made China's understanding of the purpose behind Lien's trip crystal clear. In honoring Sun Yat-sen, Li said the "people on the two sides" must "unite as one and together oppose and check the Taiwan independence forces."

Why would Lien do this? First, because he is a disappointed dictator, and lacking a dictatorship, he feels lost, without a purpose in life. Second, he understands that Taiwan does not want to be ruled by China -- least of all as a communist "province" -- so the only way he can hope to regain power for his KMT is to take it with China's help. One dictator helping another. On this trip home by Lien we will see "people helping people," as Dictator Hu "helps" Dictator Lien.

A dictator helping a dictator crush liberty and freedom, a traitor helping a traitor betray his people, a liar helping a liar lie to his people about his true intentions.

In Hong Kong, the head of the French Centre for Research on Contemporary China said that the trip will show the KMT is willing to meet with China and talk -- in contrast with Chen, who supposedly refuses to talk to China. That of course is the biggest lie of all.

Chen is more than willing to talk to Hu, but it is Hu who insists that China will not speak to Taiwan until it surrenders, until it agrees that it will never be independent, until Chen agrees to a meeting as a representative of a wayward "province."

Lien, on the other hand, has no problem agreeing to this. He believes strongly in Taiwan's surrender to China, and his trip is manifest proof of that. I wish him well on his return to China as a failed dictator, 59 years after he left. I also wish he would stay there. It would be fitting for him to now serve the Communists in China, as he has done these past eight years in Taiwan.

Lien betrays democracy in China

By the Liberty Times editorial

On Wednesday, as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan led his delegation to China's tomb for Sun Yat-sen to pay their respects, repeatedly ingratiating himself with his Chinese hosts, a report on Voice of America said that a movement to reconstitute the KMT had appeared in China because of dissatisfaction with the party's China-friendliness and the Lien-led delegation.

According to a report on the Web site of the US-based Huanghuagang Magazine, representatives of secret societies and organizations from 17 Chinese provinces met before Sun's tomb in Nanjing on April 23, where they swore to reconstitute the KMT.

Quoting this report, the Voice of America reported on Wednesday that a statement by the "reconstituted KMT" claimed that secret societies and organizations throughout China had planned to reconstitute the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, a precursor to the KMT, on Aug. 20, the 100th anniversary of the alliance's formation. On that day, they had also planned to call for a peaceful republican revolution and an end to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) dictatorship.

The report said, however, that because the KMT in Taiwan had become more friendly toward the CCP in recent years -- something that had "disappointed the Chinese people which had pinned intense hopes on the KMT for over 50 years" -- they had decided to move the occasion forward.

According to the report, members of the secret societies and organizations expressed their opposition to Lien's visit to China.

This revelation is highly significant. Lien thinks he represents the KMT orthodoxy in his visit to China, which he calls a "journey of peace." He is trying to create an atmosphere conducive to a third round of CCP-KMT cooperation by offering Taiwan as a tribute to the Communists.

In doing so, he violates not only the interests of the Taiwanese people, but also the righteous people inside China who oppose dictatorship. After founding the People's Republic of China, the CCP implemented a socialist dictatorship and executed political purges and political struggles, causing tens of millions to die in natural and man-made disasters.

It is truly a regime for whom power derives from the barrel of a gun, and it possesses not a shred of legitimacy or legality. It is precisely because the CCP's rule has not been approved by the Chinese people that it has been forced to hide its socialism behind a facade of nationalism and a wave of nationalist xenophobia in an attempt to divert domestic dissatisfaction.

Apart from minor improvements to the people's livelihood in recent years, CCP rule has meant widespread suppression of freedom, democracy and human rights. This has led to widespread indignation and discontent, and the will to resist is growing to the point where it may explode.

Today, Lien is making a mockery of Taiwanese democracy by ignoring the rules of the democratic game and meeting with the leaders of the CCP's dictatorship to dispel past grudges -- all with a smile on his face. This is a major blow to China's democracy movement. Small wonder, then, that Lien's visit to China has led to a reaction from dissatisfied forces inside China and the drive to reconstitute the KMT in China.

On arrival, Lien was in his element, with red carpet treatment and a warm welcome. But it seems to have slipped his mind that he had once considered the People's Republic of China to be a barbaric state and that the communists were a bunch of usurpers. Instead, he said it was regrettable that the meeting had been so long in coming.

For anyone who believes in democracy and freedom, a government that oppresses its people at home and has military ambitions abroad should surely be kept at arm's length. So what is Lien talking about when he says that a reunion was long overdue? Surely he couldn't be hoping that Taiwan should have fallen into the clutches of China some time ago?

Even more laughable is the fact that when Lien visited Sun's tomb, he quoted Sun's dying words, which called on the people not to forget "peace, striving and saving China." Sun's words should be understood in their context, and Lien's quoting them in this way not only disregards the historical reality, but also misrepresents their original meaning.

Today, China and Taiwan are different countries. The questions of whether China needs to be saved and how to go about this are matters that have little to do with Taiwanese people. It is China that is the primary offender in the current cross-strait crisis, and the salient issue is how to "save Taiwan," not China.

Put simply, the most pressing issues right now are how to save Taiwan from being trampled by the communist dictators in Beijing; how to prevent Taiwan's economy from being sucked dry by China; how to protect the democracy, freedom and way of life of Taiwanese people from China's destructive intentions; and how to maintain Taiwan's sovereignty and independence in the face of this aggression.

Since Lien characterized this journey as a "journey of peace," and since he has used Sun's own words, he should have had the courage to set the record straight when he met Chinese President Hu Jintao. He should have made clear his objections and dissatisfaction and demanded that China remove the missiles targeting Taiwan and scrap the "Anti-Secession" Law authorizing military force. Only then might this have amounted to a "journey of peace," and only then could Lien have been said to be a true follower of Sun Yat-sen.

Given that the KMT lost power under his leadership, Lien is neither returning decked out in riches and the trappings of success, nor is he bringing glory to his ancestors. As far as he is concerned, personal glory and a gift of pandas are worth more than the security and welfare of 23 million Taiwanese.

And as far as democracy activists in China are concerned, Lien is nothing but the lackey of the powers-that-be, a man who has succeeded in making democratic reform more difficult. With this trip, Lien will not only fail to make a contribution to history, he will come to be known as the enemy of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.