Land, sea warnings up for Haitang

TYPHOON: The outer edges of the Category 4 storm will be felt today and meteorologists warned residents in mountain areas to be on alert for land and mudslides

By Mo Yan-chih

STAFF REPORTER , WITH AGENCIES

The Central Weather Bureau issued sea warnings yesterday afternoon and land warnings around midnight as Typhoon Haitang strengthened and started to accelerate toward Taiwan.

Traveling at a speed of 20kph to 26kph, the outer rim of Haitang is expected to be felt in Hualieng this morning. Northern and eastern parts of the country, especially Yilan, Hualien and Taitung will be affected, the bureau said.

"Given the typhoon's strength, the entire island should stay on high alert," Daniel Wu, the bureau's chief meteorologist, said yesterday.

With maximum sustained winds of 184kph and gusts of up to 227kph, by yesterday Haitang was a dangerous Category 4 storm on the five-step storm scale and capable of causing severe damage.

It is expected to strengthen further and become a maximum Category 5 storm today.

Meteorologist George Lu said Haitang's eye is very clear.

"With Haitang's velocity varying only slightly, we predict that it will be very close to coastal areas this afternoon and affect the island in the evening," he said.

The storm is expected to sweep over Taiwan between today and tomorrow before heading toward China -- if it keeps to its present course.

Forecasters said that the influence of a high-pressure cell in the Pacific Ocean would be offset by cooling afternoon showers in the north of the country.

The weather bureau also urged residents in mountainous areas in the north and northeast to be on alert for landslides, mudflows and torrential rains.

Meanwhile, wholesale prices of vegetables and fruits are expected to rise over the next few days as a result of the storm and so many people took advantage of their day off yesterday to head to stores and stock up on vegetables, fruit, dry food, flashlights and batteries.

The Council of Agriculture said that there is still plenty of frozen vegetables in stock and it asked consumers not to panic over possible storm damage to crops and price hikes.

"We will distribute the stock to the market depending on the market's demand after the storm. The public's fear of high-priced vegetables after a typhoon is simply psychological and not based on fact," it said in a statement.

Wholesale prices for vegetables, however, had already risen to an average of NT$29 per kilogram in the Taipei Markets Administration Office, up from NT$26 on Friday, the council said.

The Environmental Protection Administration warned that the rains brought by Haitang may carry mud and pollute the drinking water. It suggested people store some water, and make sure to boil water before drinking.

The weather bureau did have some good news yesterday. Despite Haitang's impending arrival, the bureau believes fewer typhoons will hit Taiwan this year.

"Since the subtropical high barometric pressure in the west Pacific is growing stronger this summer, there will be fewer typhoons reaching Taiwan than in the past, when we averaged three to four," Wu said.

Beijing refuses to retract general's nuke comment

PERSONAL: A Chinese government spokesman said that Beijing seeks peaceful unification with Taiwan, and that a top PLA general's nuclear remarks were his own

AFP , BEIJING

Advertising  China refused yesterday to retract statements made by one of its generals that it would use nuclear weapons against American cities if the US military intervened if the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was to invade Taiwan. The comments came amid a flurry of criticism from Washington and Taipei on Friday.

But Beijing insisted that it would resolutely seek to resolve the "Taiwan question" in a peaceful manner.

"We will never tolerate Taiwan independence, neither will we allow anybody to separate Taiwan from the motherland," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said.

"We hope the United States will fulfill its commitments [on Taiwan] with concrete actions and join efforts with China to maintain the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," he said.

The spokesman was commenting on statements made this week by Major General Zhu Chenghu, dean of China's National Defense University, who said China could launch a nuclear attack on "hundreds" of US cities if Washington interfered militarily in the dispute over Taiwan's status.

"If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition on to the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons," Zhu said. "If the Americans are determined to interfere [then] we will be determined to respond."

China's foreign ministry spokesman said that Zhu's comments reflected his personal views, but refused to clarify whether such views also represented the position of the government.

"My statement is clear, how you interpreted it is up to you," Zhu added.

"We firmly believe it is in the interests of both China and the United States, as well as in the interests of the peace, stability and development of the Asia Pacific region and the whole world, to oppose Taiwan independence and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," he said.

"We will firmly abide by the principles of peaceful reunification and `one country two systems' and we will express the deepest sincerity and exert the greatest efforts to realize peaceful reunification," the spokesman said.

In other developments, the commander of the Guangdong Military District of the PLA, Liu Zhenwu, departed China yesterday at the head of a six-member delegation for a visit to the US at the invitation of the US Pacific Command, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

China's `goodwill' threatens Taiwan

By the Liberty Times editorial

`It is inexplicable that the KMT sees fit to put aside its historical feud with the CCP, disregard its military threat, and join the enemy ... simply to get the upper hand on the current administration.'

Now that a delegation from the New Party has finally paid a visit to China, the chairmen of all three main opposition parties have had their turn. No sooner had Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan left Chinese soil was he was followed by People First Party (PFP), chairman James Soong. Hot on their heels was New Party leader Yok Mu-ming, who chose July 7, the anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge incident that marked the beginning of the second Sino-Japanese war, for his "journey for the Chinese nation."

The Chinese refer to the war as the War of Resistance against Japanese aggression, and despite the fact that the Chinese communists also battled with the KMT while fighting against Japanese forces, Yok praised the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for its "great achievement" of "fighting together with us to resist Japanese aggression."

The "China fever" that the pan-blue camp is in the midst of has caused confusion about Taiwan's status in the international community. This led President Chen Shui-bian, in a meeting with former US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Randall Schriver, to reiterate that despite the China visits, the Taiwanese people understand that China is not sincere in wanting to improve cross-strait relations.

They knew, he said, that the whole affair was simply designed to further the cause of unification and create divisions within Taiwanese society so the "China fever" would endure. Chen emphasized that China's actions has made it clear to the Taiwanese that they should carve out their own future.

All three pan-blue chairmen, regardless of how relevant they are on the Taiwanese political scene, were treated by the Chinese as if they were visiting diplomats. The New Party does not enjoy much support, and this trip was far less newsworthy than the story of top model Lin Chih-ling's horse-riding accident in Dalian, China. Nevertheless, the moment the delegation set foot in China it was given a rapturous welcome, and Yok even got to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao, albeit for a shorter period of time than that given to either Lien or Soong.

From the first-class treatment the New Party delegation received, to the praise Hu heaped on Yok for his anti-Taiwan independence viewpoint, it seems that China has already made considerable headway in its goal of pulling in the pan-blue camp and causing divisions within Taiwanese society.

These politicians and the parties they represent -- who have changed their stance regarding the "one China" principle -- mistakenly think that this contact with China will win them political points. These politicians have come off worse in two successive presidential elections and are witnessing their political parties slowly coming apart at the seams. They now feel they are above political stunts such as kissing Taiwanese soil and are seeking their glory on the soil of Red China.

However, as Chen said, history has shown us that anyone who secures the favor and support of Beijing is unlikely to hold on to their popularity for long within Taiwan, and will gradually be pushed out. A helping hand from China is no help at all.

It is difficult to say whether or not "China fever" will cool down in Taiwan. In the past an interest in China resulted in the migration of Taiwanese manufacturing, and even though this has dealt a serious blow to our economy, the government has yet to come up with an adequate strategy to stem the flow.

There is no reason to believe that these politicians and parties will see the error of their ways and turn their energies back to finding a future for Taiwan. Nevertheless, one thing is certain, and that is that these pro-China politicians will gradually lose the support of the electorate.

Ultimately, the conclusion is not too difficult to predict. Eventually, these pro-China politicians will find themselves shunned in Taiwanese society, and they will only have themselves to blame, as they have turned their backs on mainstream public opinion and the national interest. To put it another way, their actions are akin to driving against the tide of democratization and localization, and this is tantamount to political suicide. It will be very difficult for them to claw their way back from this.

The most detestable part of all this is that this small group of pro-China politicians is well aware of the fact that China has only one thing in mind for Taiwan -- to swallow it whole. Any contact or exchange, any gesture of goodwill, is geared to the same end.

Either the blue camp has had the wool pulled over their eyes, falling hook, line and sinker for China's "goodwill," thinking that the advantages might outweigh the disadvantages, or they actually want to cooperate with the CCP simply to gain power for themselves and to unite with Beijing against independence forces.

Recently, the KMT has made no bones about the fact that they intend to cooperate with Beijing, and it is quite evident this is all about gaining power back in 2008. China only has one thing in mind for Taiwan, and this is a far cry from a "strategic alliance." The so-called goodwill and advantages to be had are merely bait hanging from the hook: the blues are looking to Red China for support, but in the end they will discover that they have been dreaming.

When the KMT regime still ruled Taiwan, it constantly trumpeted the need to "retake the mainland," and painted the communist regime as villainous and bandit-like, insisting that only by obliterating the regime could they save their compatriots. This sort of anti-communist propaganda can now be regarded as ridiculous, but in the context of the nationalist-communist conflict, it fit the circumstances of the time.

Historically, the conflict in which the two sides were engaged was conducted with the utmost viciousness, caused thousands of deaths and planted the seeds of enduring enmity. Even if we put history aside, China's ambitions to extinguish Taiwan's existence has not diminished. In any case, the government of the People's Republic of China remains our implacable enemy.

To put it another way, the enmity between the blue camp and the Chen administration is conducted through a peaceful competition between political parties under a democratic system and reflects the variety of views among the electorate. The enmity with China is one that exists under the threat of military force, and is a case of "us or them."

It is inexplicable that the KMT sees fit to put aside its historical feud with the CCP, disregard its military threat, and join the enemy under the banner of "peace, nationalism and ethnic harmony" simply to get the upper hand on the current administration.

Taiwan's "go west" policy greatly assisted China's economic development, which gave it the strength and resources to expand its military establishment to threaten Taiwan. Through the "go west" policy we may be sowing the seeds of our own destruction.

Currently, some pro-China politicians and parties are trying to promote another wave of "go west" fever, pushing democratic Taiwan toward an economic policy that leans toward China, and that would allow it to fall under its control. If they achieve this goal, that will certainly lead to Taiwan's demise. The majority of Taiwanese are not willing to simply sit back and watch the spread of this "China fever," as it poses a threat to the nation's survival.