We are the Republic of Taiwan: Lee

FACE REALITY: Former president Lee Teng-hui said it was time to change the nation's title, while his visit to Washington was marked by US concern for Taiwan's democracy

By Charles Snyder

STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON , WITH STAFF WRITER

Taiwan is an independent country and what needs to be done now in keeping with reality is to change the country's official title from "Republic of China" to "Republic of Taiwan," former president Lee Teng-hui said in a newspaper interview.

The former president made the remark in an interview with the Washington Post, which published the report yesterday.

"Taiwan is already an independent country," Lee said in the interview with the Post during his ongoing tour in Washington.

What is needed now is for the formal name "Republic of China" to be dropped in favor of the reality, the Republic of Taiwan, Lee said, according to the Post report.

Also, the growing military imbalance with China has made it increasingly necessary for the nation to acquire "some kind of long-range missiles" that would give it an offensive capability, Lee added.

"The psychological effect is important" in order to deter China from attacking Taiwan, Lee said.

The Bush administration has pushed Taiwan to buy "defensive" weaponry, but Lee said the package under consideration would leave Taiwan shortchanged.

A purely defensive posture, he said, "is a very big risk to the military balance across the Taiwan Strait."

Meanwhile,the deepening split between pan-green and pan-blue forces and the pan-blue drive toward reconciliation with Beijing became a major talking point on Tuesday, as Lee held meetings with academics, former government officials and other Taiwan specialists on the second day of his four-day visit to Washington, according to participants in the discussions.

As Lee continued to stress the need for the US to support Taiwan's democracy and security against a Chinese military attack, Americans he met seemed more concerned over pan-blue activities and their implications for US security concerns in the Taiwan Strait.

China's increased threat to Taiwan and the need for the nation to defend itself, particularly by boosting military spending and purchasing the weaponry the Bush administration has agreed to sell to Taiwan, was a main theme of Lee's meetings, according to sources familiar with the meetings, which were all private and held in secret.

The "split personality" in Taiwan, as one participant put it, was a major concern of the American participants. They viewed with worry the pan-blue efforts to gain points with Beijing as part of their efforts to regain power from the DPP government, sources said.

Some participants were "alarmed and concerned" over the pan-blue efforts. "The pull to the west [China] is becoming irresistible," as one participant characterized the US' concerns.

With the sensitivity of Lee's visit for the Bush administration in view of China's ardent condemnation of the visit in recent days, participants spoke with the Taipei Times on condition of anonymity.

Lee came to Washington with the stated intention of solidifying US-Taiwan relations and to assure continued US commitment to Taiwan's security in the face of China's threats and Beijing's accelerating military modernization.

But the emergence of concerns over pan-blue actions appears to have cast a major shadow over the aims of Lee's visit.

Lee started the day with a meeting of former chairpersons of the American Institute in Taiwan. He later had lunch with some two dozen specialists and former government officials at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Later, Lee was the guest of honor at a gala dinner hosted by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Relations Office at its Washington mansion, Twin Oaks.

A high point in his visit was to come last night, when the US Congress held a reception in his honor.

Several dozen senators and representatives were expected to attend the reception in the Capitol, which was arranged mainly by the Senate's Taiwan Congressional Caucus, which has been largely moribund since its formation.

Today, Lee is scheduled to make a presentation and hold a news conference at the National Press Club before heading to Los Angeles for the last stop in his five-city US tour.

DPP blasts KMT for siding with China on APEC meet

`STUNNED AND SORRY': The DPP has blasted a KMT official for telling Beijing that Chen should step down in return for Wang being allowed to go to the APEC summit

By Ko Shu-ling

STAFF REPORTER

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus alleged yesterday that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has colluded with Beijing to prevent Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng from attending the next APEC summit as the president's envoy.

"As the KMT should have condemned and protested Beijing's opposition to President Chen Shui-bian's selection of Wang to stand in his place at APEC's informal leader's summit. We are stun-ned and sorry to hear them call for the president's resignation in exchange for Wang's trip," said DPP caucus whip William Lai.

Lai was referring to a remark made by Chang Jung-kung, director of the KMT's mainland affairs department, who is currently visiting China.

Chang said that Wang would be able to go to APEC only if Chen stepped down from his post.

EXPLANATION REQUIRED

Lai said that he is very curious to know whether the KMT has struck a deal with the Chinese government. He asked that Chang and former KMT chairman Lien Chan offer an explanation of Chang's remark and the logic behind it.

If there has indeed been a deal struck between the KMT and the Chinese government, Lai said that KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou owes the public an explanation as to whether he has played a part in it, and whether he personally approves of the arrangement.

"I'd like to know why the KMT is willing to listen to every word Beijing says," Lai said.

"I'm very curious to know who Wang would be representing if Chen did step down. Is he going to represent Taiwan province or Taiwan special administrative region?" Lai said.

As the KMT has failed to speak against China's opposition to Wang's appointment, they, on the other hand, have forced the government to accept Beijing's terms, Lai said.

"I am calling on the public to denounce the KMT, which audaciously surrenders the country's sovereignty to China under such humiliating terms simply for the purpose of serving their own partisan interest," he said.

NO ALTERNATIVE

Meanwhile, Presidential Office Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun yesterday told the legislature's Organic Laws and Statutes Committee that Chen is not considering any other candidate to replace Wang.

"Taiwan is not a part of China, and we don't have to listen to what Beijing says," he said. "The ruling and opposition parties should be working together to make the thing work."

Health politics and halting bird flu

The world is now on guard against avian flu. It first reared its ugly head in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Thailand, and has since made an appearance in Romania and Turkey in Europe, with one case even reported in Greece. This has caused considerable anxiety in the EU, and Europe's governments are trying to devise a way to halt its spread.

Avian flu is a new viral strain to which humans have yet to develop antibodies and its high fatality rate has prompted concern in the medical community. The virus has yet to make itself felt in Taiwan, but a degree of panic is starting to take hold: Anxiety over the virus caused the stock market to fall over 130 points on Monday and yesterday.

October is the migratory season for birds. In the past, these visitors have been welcomed, and in many places around the island special events are held to celebrate their arrival. This year, however, these migratory birds are likely to be seen as carriers of danger rather than welcome guests.

As early as Aug. 19, the National Security Council met to discuss how to cope with the threat, pledging NT$20 billion (US$594 million) toward prevention. Additionally, hospitals have adopted preventative measures, as they did during the 2003 outbreak of SARS.

The Center for Disease Control, meanwhile, has approached the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche concerning joint production of Tamiflu, the leading drug against avian flu.

The public has cause for alarm, but should not panic.

Although the government is already preparing to tackle a potential pandemic, a recent CDC survey showed that while 90 percent of Taiwanese had heard of avian flu, around 80 percent did not have a clue how to deal with it.

The general public are not sufficiently informed on how to protect themselves.

What's worse, the recent spate of news coverage will likely only make people more nervous. The Department of Health and the media should work together to educate the public on how to fight the flu.

Given that it is impossible to quarantine all of the birds entering Taiwan, the public should avoid contact with them to reduce the chances of transmission. The Department of Health should continue to strengthen entry and customs inspections and maintain fever checkpoints at airports.

In addition, the government should warn the public not to get close to, touch or feed any birds, and people should report any cases of fever to the health authorities immediately.

Taiwanese, like everyone else in the world, are concerned about the spread of this disease. But as Taiwan is not a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) -- because of China's incessant political interference -- it is excluded from the global disease prevention and control network. As a result, it can only seek help indirectly from other WHO member nations. This makes a mockery of the WHO's humanitarian and sans frontier claims. It also poses a threat to the Taiwanese population, and leaves open a loophole in the international public health network.

Whether looked at from the perspective of Taiwan's basic rights to healthcare or global disease prevention, we can never allow the nightmare of our near-solitary fight against the SARS epidemic in 2003 to happen again.

Instead, the WHO should accept Taiwan's application to become an observer nation. Human lives must be put before politics.

The enemy within

By Henry Blackhand

Having been in Taiwan for a few years now I have often read about or heard people talk about the "fifth column."

This term refers to the thousands of supposedly undercover Chinese agents living in Taiwan that are busy undermining the strength of the nation's society and its ultimate ability to resist in the event of a Chinese invasion. For years when walking the streets I would look at people carefully to try to identify one of these Chinese spies.

But just recently it has dawned on me that these supposedly clandestine agents are nothing of the sort. In fact they are totally brazen and open about their work, and worst of all, the people of Taiwan, not China, support them and are paying their wages.

In the past five years they have gradually taken off their disguises and revealed themselves for everyone in Taiwan to see. The people I am referring to are of course pan-blue politicians. The very same politicians -- if that's what you can call them -- who are one minute kissing the ground to demonstrate their love for this nation, but the next minute are prepared to denigrate everything that Taiwan stands for by traveling to China.

I refer to the people who have caused Taiwan's governmental process to grind to a halt over the past five years by their childish obstructionism in the legislature. These people continue to blatantly undermine Taiwan's capability to defend itself by repeatedly refusing to debate the special arms budget proposal.

These are the same representatives who constantly go behind the ruling party's back in cross-strait negotiations on such issues as fruit exports and direct links. By doing this, these people make a mockery of the democracy they claim to be so proud of.

But you cannot blame the pan-blue camp for this, as their agenda is and always has been out in the open. They want Taiwan to be absorbed by China and are only doing what they and their supporters want.

Neither can you blame China, whose intentions are even more obvious. The Chinese don't even try to hide their schemes and ploys these days; fruit exports and student scholarships are two of the most obvious recent examples. Unbelievably, many Taiwanese are lapping them up.

You can, however, blame the people of Taiwan who actually vote for these traitors. These are the same people who profess to want to maintain the status quo in relations with China. Opinion polls back this assertion, as their results usually show that a vast majority feel this way.

If this is so, how can it be that the pan-blues managed to secure a majority in the legislature, enabling them to keep on sowing legislative discord, create social chaos and gradually erode this country's ability to resist the red devil across the Taiwan Strait?

This just doesn't tally. Do the people of Taiwan really wish to become another Hong Kong, where human rights are being slowly repealed, democracy is now non-existent, and where Beijing makes all the decisions?

I simply don't understand how these politicians can do this in full view of the public and get away with it. They, in tandem with China, are taking advantage of the people's growing indifference to politics and their desire for a peaceful, prosperous life.

The peace advancement bill is the latest example of this work. This traitorous piece of legislation cannot be allowed to pass, and if the Chinese agents doing their work in the legislature manage to force it through, then the Council of Grand Justices must throw it out immediately.

Beijing must be amazed at how easy it is to implement their unification masterplan. Who needs the fifth column and undercover agents when you have politicians lining up to do the devil's bidding?

It is time for Taiwan's public to decide if they want legislators who represent them or China, it is time for the government to get tough with the people who are gradually selling out Taiwan, and it is time for everyone who really loves this land to wake up and do something about this situation before it is too late.

Show these charlatans and traitors that they cannot carry on behaving like this.

The public should use the year-end elections to show these double agents what they think of them.

Henry Blackhand

Taipei

Declare independence

By Cheng Wei-ming

In recent years the movement toward Taiwan's independence has gradually evolved into the preservation of the Republic of China (ROC). Taiwanese people have been fooled into believing that the ROC in Taiwan is a sovereign independent country.

After the Democratic Progressive Party won the presidential election in 2000, we believed the mission of Taiwan independence was achieved. Now, all we need to do is to change the name from the ROC to the Republic of Taiwan and adopt a new constitution.

But we must understand that no matter what name we use and what kind of constitution we adopt the international community still considers Taiwan to be a part of China. It considers Taiwan to be an island where a Chinese government (ROC), the loser of the Chinese civil war, resides. The global community will not change its views on Taiwan just because we have a new name and a new constitution.

Therefore, if the Taiwanese people want Taiwan to be a sovereign country, we need to tell the world that we want to build a nation that is independent of China (both the ROC and People's Republic of China) and is free of Chinese people. We must announce to the international community in writing that Taiwan wants to dissolve the political bands that have connected us to China -- by a declaration of independence.

This declaration will be akin to a written mission statement. In the statement we delineate the goal, the method and the reasons. We must explicitly express our desire to build a non-Chinese nation by declaring Taiwan's independence instead of just implicitly demonstrating it by our deeds.

As stated in the US Declaration of Independence: "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

The Taiwanese people also need to announce to the international community the reasons that Taiwan wants to dissolve the political ties which have connected it to China.

Assenting to the "self-evident truth" stated in the US declaration, "that all men are created equal, and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights -- among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," the people of Taiwan shall strenuously contend for the immediate dissolution of the political bands that have connected Taiwan and China.

Only through the declaration of Taiwan independence, will Taiwanese people's determination and dedication to build an independent country be heard and respected. The Taiwanese people owe themselves and the international community a declaration of Taiwan independence.

Cheng Wei-ming United States

Ma's 228 efforts show he doesn't understand

By Chou Chen-thai

The million person hand-in-hand rally on Feb. 28 just before last year's presidential election boosted President Chen Shui-bian's re-election campaign, and ultimately helped him win. Now, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou has finally realized that the 228 Incident of 1947 remains the Achilles' heel of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). For the party to regain power, it needs to resolve the issue.

As part of Ma's strategy to do this, since being elected KMT chairman he has started meeting certain 228 families, and has tried to dilute the incident's unique ties to Taiwan's history. The case of Liao Te-hsiung serves as an example. Liao presented Ma with a bottle of whiskey that Sun Yat-sen had given to Liao's father, who was later a 228 victim.

Recently, Ma invited Liao and a few other 228 families to visit the KMT's archives. He displayed some insignificant and insensitive materials in trying to show sincerity, and announced that 228 families and the party had reconciled.

This hypocritical action has irritated many of the families, who believe that if the KMT is truly sincere it has to clarify its historical responsibility for the incident, redeem itself and apologize to all the families affected, as well as the public. This would be real reconciliation.

Most families do not hold a grudge about the massacre, nor do they complain about the merciless oppression of 228 families over the past few decades. All they are asking for is a clarification of what was right and what was wrong, as well as justice.

Have any of the offenders or other representatives ever apologized to the 228 families and the people of Taiwan? Surprisingly, Ma tried to cover his and his party's lack of effort by thanking Chen and former president Lee Teng-hui for their efforts to reverse past wrongs. He also promised to hold a ceremony to mark the day next year, believing that justice will then be fulfilled. He tells us to overcome our sorrow to heal the wound. Such "great sentiment" is almost unbearable.

Ma's understanding of the incident remains at a legal level. He does not understand that the incident's meaning has already become inextricably linked with the protection of Taiwan's independent sovereignty. If he is truly sincere about a reconciliation, he should view the incident from the Taiwanese people's perspective to understand its historical meaning, instead of inviting a few 228 families to participate in a charade. He and the KMT have to clarify their historical responsibility for the incident before a reconciliation can be reached.

Chou Chen-thai is the director-general of the Taiwan 228 Union.