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Let me come to Australia, Chen says

REACHING OUT: The president called on Canberra to be more supportive by allowing him to transit through the country, and by helping him attend this year's APEC summit

STAFF REPORTER WITH AFP

President Chen Shui-bian yesterday appealed to the Aus-tralian government to end its 33-year ban on Taiwanese leaders visiting the country.

In an interview published in the Australian newspaper, Chen also called on Australian Prime Minister John Howard to help Taiwan gain an invitation to next month's summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in South Korea.

Australia has barred visits from Taiwanese leaders since 1972 when Canberra established diplomatic relations with Beijing.

Chen was quoted yesterday as saying that he respected Australia's formal diplomatic links with China but believed this should not prevent practical cooperation between Taipei and Canberra.

He notably asked to be allowed to at least make transit stops in Australia on his way to visit the six South Pacific nations that have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

Howard's government has been actively seeking to boost its relations with China, launching preliminary talks earlier this year on a bilateral free trade agreement and negotiating the possible sale of uranium to Beijing.

Howard has also suggested that Australia's close ties with the US and its growing links with China have put his government in a good position to help mediate tensions between the two giants, including those relating to Taiwan's status.

In yesterday's interview, Chen said he believed that APEC could be used to soften his country's conflict with China. But China's insistence that Taiwan is not a sovereign state means its president has never been allowed to attend an APEC leaders' summit.

"I believe if justice and equality exist in international society, the Australian government should speak out in favor of Taiwan and allow its president to participate [in APEC] alongside its [Australia's] leader," Chen said.

"At a time when the Bush administration wants a peaceful resolution of this [the Taiwan Strait issue], I believe APEC will serve as the best site for discussion of this issue," he said.

A spokesman for Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told the newspaper the government would be happy to have the Taiwanese privately raise issues of APEC representation but would not discuss the issue through the media.

Meanwhile, the Australian's editorial published yesterday called on the Australian government to give "serious consideration" to Chen's requests.

"Taiwan is a thriving democracy. That, alone, militates for Mr. Chen's remarks to be given serious consideration," the editorial said.

"Mr. Chen's requests on APEC and stopover visits to Australia are reasonable. The former, however, is a no-no as far as China is concerned and will not happen, for now. The latter is already the case for several countries that follow a one-China policy, including the US, and may be manageable," the editorial added.

Sixty years on, Asia's wounds remain

IMPERIAL PAST: Protests and another apology from the Japanese prime minister marked the anniversary of Tokyo's surrender after its conquest and colonization

AP , TOKYO

Asia commemorated the 60th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender yesterday by honoring the dead and searching for reconciliation, while Japan's leader tried to salve wounds by apologizing for the "great damages and pain" it inflicted on its neighbors.

With ceremonies and protests, the region memorialized the end to a conflict that killed millions of soldiers and civilians from the jungles of Burma to the glistening beaches of the Pacific and the sprawling cities of Japan and Korea.

Anger mixed with sorrow amid rekindled tension between Tokyo and the countries its Imperial Army invaded decades ago.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed "deep reflections and heartfelt apology" for Tokyo's wartime colonization and pledged that his country would never forget the "terrible lessons" of the war, which ended Aug. 15, 1945.

Three elderly Taiwanese women yesterday demand an official apology from Japan for forcing them to work as sex slaves, or comfort women, during World War II. There are 30 survivors out of an estimated 2,000 Taiwanese women who were forced to work as sex slaves for Japanese troops, both in Taiwan and in other Asian countries.

"Our country has caused great damage and pain to people in many countries, especially our Asian neighbors, through colonization and invasion," Koizumi said in a statement. At a ceremony shortly thereafter, Koizumi and Emperor Akihito -- son of wartime Emperor Hirohito -- bowed before an alter of chrysanthemums at a nationally televised service for the nation's estimated 3 million war dead.

Japan's relations with some of its Asian neighbors are at the lowest point in years in part because of disputes about whether Japan has properly atoned for its past aggressions. The issue has contributed to opposition to Tokyo's bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat.

Fueling the grievances are Koizumi's controversial visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine and his government's approval of history textbooks that critics say whitewash wartime atrocities such as the Rape of Nanking, in which Japanese troops massacred as many as 300,000 people while taking the Chinese city in 1937.

Tensions have also been stoked by disputes between Tokyo, Beijing, Taipei and Seoul over resource-rich islands off their coasts, and Japan's running argument with China over gas drilling in a contested area of the East China Sea. Concerns over communist North Korea's nuclear weapons program have also increased regional friction.

Protesters in Hong Kong, which Japan occupied from 1941-1945, marched on Tokyo's consulate yesterday, saying Japan had not sufficiently atoned for military aggression and chanting "Japan's hands are full of fresh blood." Scores of police meanwhile guarded Japan's Beijing embassy as China marked the anniversary demanding that Japanese leaders face up to suffering inflicted by their nation.

"Only with an honest attitude towards history can a nation win reconciliation and then integrate into the global community," the China Daily newspaper said. State television devoted the first 10 minutes of its midday news yesterday to war commemorations, showing battle scenes and the bodies of Chinese killed by Japanese troops.

Former `comfort women' lodge protest

By Mao Huan-wen

CONTRIBUTING REPORTER, WITH AGENCIES

Six former "comfort women" who were forced into sexual slavery in World War II and a group of women's rights activists renewed their protest against Japan by staging a march and roadside skits yesterday.

``This will be our last protest and it will be up to the young people to keep up the campaign,'' said Tsai Kuei-ying, a diminutive 81-year-old, standing outside Japan's representative office with 20 younger supporters who released yellow balloons to pray for peace.

Tsai is among 30 survivors from an estimated 2,000 Taiwanese women who were forced to work as sex slaves for Japanese troops.

Tsai and several other frail and aging former "comfort women," accompanied by activists from the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation, demanded an official apology from the Japanese government, and reasonable compensation for the suffering they endured during the war.

"Although the campaign this year comes to an end after this final demonstration, we will never stop quickening our pace in pursuit of truth and justice, because ... these suffering ladies have less and less time to wait," said Chen Shu-li, Director of the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation, before the beginning of the march.

The group marched from Liu Kung Park along Fuxing South Road to the Interchange Association in order to deliver a letter to the de facto Japanese embassy's chief officer, Ikeda Tadashi.

The demonstration was joined by a few surviving former Taiwanese comfort women and volunteers from all over the nation, holding protest placards and yellow balloons.

Two university students participating in the demonstration and majoring in social work said that they knew the comfort women's stories from their lectures in university and from history textbooks, and that they decided to join the activity after seeing publicity materials on the foundation's Web site.

Although young people throughout the world get their knowledge of history from textbooks, foundation chairperson Liao Ying-chih said there are more than 20 schools in Japan that use textbooks which avoid mentioning women who served as sex slaves to Japanese troops, and distort the nature of Japan's military aggression.

"We ask for official recognition of the existence of the sex- slave system, a [formal] apology and also restitution by the Japanese Government," Liao said. "Furthermore, we hope that a museum or memorial hall can be built to enshrine this miserable history, and that the truth be stated fully and accurately in all textbooks."

A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators left for China yesterday, saying that their trip was aimed at building bridges across the Taiwan Strait by initiating negotiations over cross-strait charter flights.

"Since the government hasn't made any progress in starting negotiations with China, the KMT wants to pressure the government to step up the pace," said Tseng Yung-chuan, leader of the group.

A high-ranking Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official, requesting anonymity, yesterday criticized the KMT trip, saying that it would only serve to destroy the progress the government has made.

The official said that after Premier Frank Hsieh's announcement on Aug. 3 that Taiwan is willing to discuss cross-strait charter flights for passengers and cargo transportation alike, Beijing responded that it welcomed Hsieh's remarks. This development proved that some consensus about this issue had been achieved, he said.

"How can the KMT legislators say that the government hasn't made any progress?" the official said.

It would be immoral of the KMT to destroy any progress through the group's interference or force negotiations to come to a standstill, the official said.

The official urged the KMT legislators to assume the customary role of an opposition party by monitoring government policy, not creating difficulties for the government's efforts to advance the development of cross-strait relations.

As the government has commissioned the Taipei Airlines Association (TAA) -- a private group composed of local airlines -- to be its representative in arranging details of the negotiations, the MAC said that the KMT could exchange opinions with China but should not undermine the government's authority.

Huang Wei-feng, a MAC vice-chairman, told the legislators prior to their departure that both sides of the Strait have been in contact with each other in private. "It's not suitable to reveal the nature of private contact concerning the issue, although it nullifies the conclusion that there has been no progress," Huang said.

In related news,the Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday granted a request filed by local carriers to fly over China's territorial airspace, urging the Chinese authorities to also give the green light to the request to help the carriers save on fuel costs amid skyrocketing oil prices.

Taiwanese carriers are allowed to file applications to the ministry's Civil Aeronautics Administration starting today, according to an announcement yesterday.

The nation's two largest carriers, China Airlines and EVA Airways Corp, were delighted over this measure, saying that they are ready to file their applications.

China Airlines will apply for permission to reroute 44 passenger flights per week over China's airspace -- including flights between Taipei and Hanover, Delhi, Vienna, Frankfurt and Chiang Mai -- and 20 cargo flights per week, including flights between Taipei and Abu Dhabi, Delhi and Luxembourg.

EVA Airways will apply for rerouted flights between Taipei and Paris, Mumbai, Delhi, Hanoi, Vientiane and Dubai.

Recently, Japan's legislators passed a law to permanently allow the entry of Taiwanese tourists into Japan sans visa.

What's remarkable is that Japan is perhaps the only country in the world that's willing to do this.

At a time when most nations shun Taiwan -- and Taiwan's difficulty in retaining its limited number of diplomatic friends is growing by the day -- Japan must be seeing something most other nations, including China, aren't -- at least not yet.

Other considerations aside, such as its long-term national security imperatives, Japan might just be prescient in recognizing the eventuality of an "independent and friendly" Taiwan.

The international interests in the cross-strait issue are reflected in the US' Taiwan Relations Act, China's "Anti-Secession" Law and the US-Japan alliance. A head-on collision of these three laws or treaties would precipitate military conflict in the Strait that could eventually engulf the region and even spread globally.

China's strategic design on Taiwan is masked behind its nationalist fever, while the US and Japan equate their strategic interests with maintaining peace in the region.

It should be noted that the single dominant factor that drives the ongoing struggle in the Taiwan Strait is China's nationalism that demands the "return" of Taiwan to China. However, this particular nationalism -- which has been fired up and kept on the front burner over the years by a Beijing leadership that actually has strategic intent in mind -- could be quelled if necessary. In other words, it's a tool of the leadership and could be turned on and off as needed.

For instance, if Beijing decides that its continuing claim on Taiwan is harmful to its national security, it'll find a way to cool the fever. By peeling away the disguise and only addressing the core strategic concerns of the three relevant, big powers -- the US, China and Japan -- one can conclude that the ideal environment of minimum tension -- and hence high stability -- in the Taiwan Strait is tenable only when there exists a neutral -- in the sense of military non-alliance -- and independent state of Taiwan.

It should be stressed that only through a multilateral peace conference could this ideal cross-strait environment be established.

And, it could materialize only with the blessing of Beijing, whose claim on Taiwan is perhaps the biggest threat to world peace today. However, there is indication that Beijing might be gradually coming around to recognize that its claim on Taiwan could be taking China on the path to ruin.

The first sign came recently in the form of a calculated remark, by General Zhu Chenghu of the People's Liberation Army, that nearly admitted to the suicidal nature of Beijing's existing policy toward Taiwan while he, on the surface, seemed to issue a threat.

Nevertheless, it would take the twin catalysts of Taiwan's adequate deterrent capability and Taiwan's high degree of commitment to full-fledged independence to bring about such a peace conference and to assure a successful outcome.

Taiwan must demonstrate evidence of resolve in achieving and maintaining defense capability; not necessarily on a par with China but sufficient to deter China's aggression and therefore deflate China's internal hawkish pressure.

It's worth noting that an imbalance of military capability across the Taiwan Strait is what's feeding China's aggression, and could in turn bring on global implications. Conversely, Taiwan's adequate deterrent capability could become a cornerstone for stability in the region. Its importance can't be overstated.

Then again, Taiwan's high degree of commitment to be an independent state could prove to be the proverbial last straw that breaks the back of China's misplaced nationalism and convinces Beijing of the futility, as well as the senselessness, of trying to annex Taiwan.

This could then dovetail with Beijing's growing anxiety -- regarding the ongoing potential for military confrontation with the US -- in moving Beijing toward a multilateral peace conference.

Eventually, the strategic position of Taiwan dictates that all three countries of relevance -- the US, China and Japan -- would desire to be on friendly terms with an independent Taiwan.

Perhaps Japan and the US can see that day coming. Hopefully, so can Beijing -- and soon.

China's voracious need for energy is behind its unwillingness to see Iran's uranium-conversion activities brought before the UN

`[M]ostly it is down to economic interests, in particular oil, which China needs to keep firing its remarkable economic transformation.'

China's opposition to taking the Iranian nuclear crisis to the UN Security Council is largely driven by their long-term oil relationship, sparked in part by the US occupation of Iraq, analysts say.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Gholamali Khoshroo was in Beijing last week to explain Tehran's position on resuming uranium conversion activities at a plant in Isfahan, which has caused an international outcry.

The move prompted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to set a Sept. 3 date for a report on Iran's compliance which could lead to a possible referral to the Security Council for sanctions, such as a ban on oil sales.

China, a nuclear power and one of the Security Council's five permanent veto-wielding members, has made it clear it does not want the issue before the UN body.

"It would not be helpful ... We all want a peaceful solution to the Iranian issue. So I think the best place is the efforts between the EU and [the] Iranians or the IAEA," China's UN ambassador Wang Guangya said last week.

"The council has too many things on the table. Why should we add more?" he said.

Beijing's stance is partly because it has a policy of not interfering in other countries internal affairs, driven by the fact that it does not want similar outside interference in its own domestic matters.

But mostly it is down to economic interests, in particular oil, which China needs to keep firing its remarkable economic transformation, experts said.

In 1997 China negotiated a US$1.3 billion contract with then-Iraqi president Saddam Hussein to develop the al-Ahdab oil field in central Iraq, and in 2001 it was in talks develop the much larger Halfayah field.

"Between them, the two fields might have accounted for almost 400,000 barrels per day, or 13 percent of China's oil consumption in 2003," said Michael Schwartz, professor of sociology at the State University of New York who specializes in Iraq and Iran.

"However, like Iraq's other oil customers [including Russia, Germany and France], China was prevented from activating these deals by the UN sanctions then in place," he said.

When the US invaded and set up the Coalition Provisional Authority all pre-existing contracts and promises were null and void, wiping out China's stake in Iraqi oil fields.

So it turned to Iran, and sealed a US$70 billion contract to import Iranian oil, and has since signed a host of other economic agreements, including to build the first stage of the Tehran subway system.

"In other words, the war in Iraq -- and the resistance that it triggered -- played a key role in creating a potentially powerful alliance between Iran and China," Schwartz said.

Ehsan Ahrari, an independent strategic analyst based in Virginia who regularly writes on Iran, said that for these reasons, China will never agree to the Iran issue being taken to the Security Council.

"China has been strengthening its ties in Iran, most importantly, in the energy field. It also has been doing business with Iran in the transfer of missile, and even nuclear technology," he said on his Web site, www.ehsanahrari.com.

"China's voracious energy appetite is in dire need of Iran's considerable oil and gas reserves. It also needs a lot of hard cash to pay for the ever-escalating prices of oil in a bullish seller's market," he said.

"As long as Iran needs China's missile and nuclear technologies, Beijing expects its oil purchase bills to become eminently manageable. Consequently, the Iranians are feeling comfortable that they have reasons to count on China's support if the EU-3 [France, Germany and Britain] and the US were to go to the Security Council," he said.

China has a voracious appetite for oil to feed an economy ticking along at 9.5 percent annual growth, and has been searching for supplies in all parts of the globe.

The world's most populous country expects to import 130 million tonnes of crude this year, up from last year's record high of 122 million tonnes, making it the second largest importer in the world after the US.