Chen said that the guidelines had become more complex in response to the recent series of visits by pan-blue opposition leaders to China.

"The `one principle' is to protect Taiwan's sovereignty and negotiate with China under the principle of democracy, equity and peace," Chen said.

"Taiwan is willing to talk to China in a government-to-government mode and requires that all disputes must be settled by peaceful means. Armed force is forbidden," he said.

"The `three insistences' refer to not weakening our convictions in relation to democratic reform, persisting with protecting Taiwan's interests ... and not deviating from our mission to transform Taiwan into a great and progressive country," he said.

Chen said that the "five oppositions" referred to the government opposing Beijing's "one China" policy and the "one country, two systems" framework that would make Taiwan follow in Hong Kong or Macao's footsteps.

"We also oppose the `1992 consensus' placed within the context of `one China' or `one country, two systems,' and reject any proposal that is premised on `unification,'" Chen said.

"And we firmly oppose the so-called `Anti-Secession' Law. I believe that all TSU members can identify with these points," he said.

Chen said that although the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the TSU share the same political convictions and have a steadfast partnership, their roles and missions are different.

He said that the DPP, as the governing party, has to deal with the problem of national identity and other complex issues passed on by the old government, and that it was impossible for the DPP to negate the damage from the past all at once.

"Former president Lee ... can understand my difficulties most of all," he said.

Chen said the DPP and the TSU agreed that China is the biggest threat to the national security and cross-strait development.

"China does not accept the fact that Taiwan is an independent country with sovereignty and is enhancing its oppression of Taiwan in every way -- diplomatically, economically, culturally and socially -- in an attempt to annex Taiwan," he said.

"In the face of such a stern challenge, the people of Taiwan must build a sense of crisis and fortify the idea that Taiwan must occupy the foremost place [in our minds] so that we can ward off China's attempts to sow disunity," he said.

Notified in advance that Chen and Lee would share the same stage, the function room was crowded with guests and supporters for TSU candidates in the year-end elections for local constituencies.

Boisterous cheering and waving flags turned the event into something akin to a campaign rally as TSU Chairman Shu Chin-chiang introduced the party's candidates individually.

Vice President Annette Lu, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang, DPP Secretary-General Lee Yi-yang and leaders of pro-independence groups also attended the function.

Unlike last month, when he appeared unhappy in the presence of Chen at a wedding last month, Lee seemed to be in a good mood yesterday, talking to Chen for about 30 minutes before joining the event.

According to senior adviser to the president Koo Kwang-ming, Lee was "quite satisfied" with Chen's explanation for the government's handling of recent cross-strait problems.

Lee spent most of his speech criticizing the "collusion" of pan-blue-camp leaders with China, adding that the most dangerous enemies were those leaders who benefited from the contact.

"They are ignorant of the fact that they are trapped in the snare of a unification war," Lee said.

Pro-Taiwan US caucus asks Ma to back arms bill

LET'S START AGAIN: The congressional caucus' co-chairmen appealed to the next KMT chairman to put Taiwan's interests first and facilitate the bill's passage

By Charles Snyder

STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON

Three of four co-chairmen of the US Congressional Taiwan Caucus have urged Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman-elect Ma Ying-jeou to allow the Legislative Yuan to pass a special package of arms purchases from the US, a package that has been blocked by the pan-blue camp under outgoing KMT Chairman Lien Chan.

The US lawmakers' request came in a letter to Ma congratulating him on his landslide July 16 election.

"We urge you, as the new chairman of the KMT, to lead efforts in Taipei to ensure that the Legislative Yuan quickly passes a special arms procurement package or increases its annual defense spending," the letter said.

"We believe as you do that cooperation between Taipei and Washington is paramount to Taiwan's security and is in the mutual interest of both nations," it said.

Three of the four caucus co-chairmen signed the letter. They were Republican Representative Steve Chabot and Democratic representatives Sherrod Brown and Robert Wexler. Not signing the letter was Republican Representative Dana Rohrabacher, one of the most ardent pro-Taiwan legislators in Washington.

The Formosan Association for Public Affairs, a pro-independence lobby group that released the letter, offered no explanation for Rohrabacher's failure to sign.

In the letter, the three co-chairmen invited Ma to Washington next month to "address members of the caucus and engage in a dialogue concerning US-Taiwan relations."

"Given the myriad of complex and difficult issues facing the United States and Taiwan in the coming years," the letter said, "we believe your visit would be a positive step towards enhancing this historic partnership."

The caucus leaders said they wanted to assure Ma that the US was "fully committed to the security, prosperity and future of the people of Taiwan."

They added that, "We know you value the long-standing relationship between the United States and Taiwan, a relationship that has grown stronger in recent years."

The letter is the latest in a string of efforts by Bush administration officials and congressmen to get Taipei to approve the arms package, which includes up to eight diesel-electric submarines, three PAC-III anti-missile batteries and 12 P-3C anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft.

It also comes in the wake of the latest Pentagon report on China's military buildup, which identifies a rising threat toward Taiwan, and in the wake of growing feeling among military experts in Washington that China may already have gained the military equipment and expertise to launch a successful attack on Taiwan while parrying US efforts to intervene.

Earlier this year, 33 US legislators sent a letter to Lien urging him to cease blocking the special arms package. But Lien spurned that request.

Japan knows who its friends are

On Friday, the Japanese Diet passed a bill granting visitors from Taiwan visa-free treatment for their entries into Japan. The move is of course welcomed by the Taiwanese government and the public, since most countries do not formally recognize Taiwan and therefore do not grant such treatment to Taiwanese visitors, causing a lot of inconvenience for those who wish to travel abroad.

Even more noteworthy in these events was the fact that the bill was enacted against the backdrop of strong protests from Beijing, which, coupled with several other recent developments between Japan, Taiwan and China, suggests a gradual shift in the triangular relationship.

Taiwanese know full well how inconvenient it can be to travel abroad with a "Republic of China" Taiwanese passport. The granting of visa-free status to the citizens of a country is usually done through the signing of bilateral treaties or accords. But most countries do not formally recognize Taiwan, and therefore cannot enter into such agreements or accords with Taipei. This means locals typically need to get tourist visas issued by the government of the country which they intend to visit beforehand. However, this can be an extremely inconvenient and time-consuming process.

Despite the lack of a formal diplomatic relationship with Taiwan, the Japanese government managed to overcome the legal and technical challenge by granting the status through the passage of a domestic law. This reflects a high degree of friendship on the part of Japan toward Taiwan.

Making this move on the part of Japan even more prominent is the fact that such treatment continues to be denied to visitors from China, despite repeated requests from Beijing. In fact, as Japan was preparing to grant visa-free status to Taiwanese travelers, Beijing protested against the discrepancy in treatment between visitors from Taiwan and the "Chinese mainland," calling for the extension of the treatment to all "Chinese" visitors.

Understandably, from the standpoint of the Japanese government, there are many reasons to not grant such status to Chinese visitors -- the biggest one being the existing problem withillegal Chinese immigrants.

Japan is not the only country in the world which has a problem with Chinese students and visitors working and living in their host countries once their visa has expired. The US, Canada and even Taiwan have their hands full in this regard. It seems some people don't want to go back to the social paradise the Chinese Communist Party has created.

On the other hand, of all foreign tourists in Japan, Taiwanese rank No. 2 in terms of number, trailing only South Koreans. So, it is anticipated that the granting of visa-free status will further boost the number of Taiwanese tourists to Japan. Moreover, Taiwanese are well known for their willingness to spend big bucks on shopping and dining while abroad. The passage of the bill will therefore generate a lot of business opportunities and revenue for Japan as the host country.

This is not the first time that the Japanese government has been willing to deal with issues involving Taiwan against a backdrop of vocal protests from Beijing, and excluding Chinese participation during the entire process. A similar pattern was observed during the last round of negotiations between Taiwan and Japan over fishing rights -- in which requests for participation by Beijing were simply ignored.

These developments may be subtle, but are noteworthy. As China's rise as a regional threat continues, Japanese policy toward Beijing seems to have taken on a subtle and gradual shift. One can only hope this will lead to further, more significant changes in the future.