Lee urges closer ties with Japan

SHARED CONCERNS: The former president urged increased cooperation with Japan and called on Tokyo to take the lead in solving regional problems

By Chang Yun-ping

STAFF REPORTER

Taiwan and Japan should seek to normalize official ties in the face of a rising China, whose communist dictatorship poses a great threat to security in the Asia-Pacific region, former president Lee Teng-hui told an academic forum on Taiwan-Japan relations in Taipei yesterday.

Speaking at "The Future of the Asia Pacific" forum held by the Taiwan Advocates think tank, of which Lee is chairman, the former president said both Japan and Taiwan are on the frontlines of problems accompanying the rise of China, ranging from traditional security threats to non-traditional issues such as environmental devastation, competition for energy resources and outbreaks of disease.

Lee likened communist China and its dictatorship to "cancer cells" that helped to spread problems across borders, including cases such as the outbreak of SARS two years ago.

He said that although the US was the largest stabilizing force in Asia, the region faces other challenges that fall outside of the US' focus. Japan could take the lead in stamping out problems -- ranging from environmental protection to disease prevention, he said.

Lee said Taiwan is the best partner for Japan to cooperate with in doing this because of "similarities in values."

However, Lee said, exchanges between Japan and Taiwan are active only on the private level, with government-to-government contact remaining insufficient.

"Japan and Taiwan should normalize their relations in order to deal with the problems Asia faces. The Japanese government should honestly recognize the very existence of Taiwan and develop normal government-to-government relations. This is the key step toward Asia's future," Lee said.

Addressing an audience of Japanese and Taiwanese academics in the keynote speech of the two-day conference, Lee spoke for two hours in his native Japanese. The former president was born when Taiwan was still a colony of Japan, and was later educated in Japan and the US.

He said Taiwan's absence from strategic talks by the US-Japan security alliance contradicts the alliance's goal of covering the so-called "unstable arc" from the Middle East to Northeast Asia.

Commenting on the alliance's declaration in February that peace in the Taiwan Strait would be considered a "common strategic objective," Lee said "it is very unreasonable that Taiwan is excluded from talks concerning the security surrounding Taiwan."

Taiwan had been left out because "the US and Japan don't want to irritate Beijing," he said, adding that Taiwan's exclusion would be a dangerous threat to the alliance.

"Taiwan is the biggest flashpoint in the security arc from Asia to the Middle East. If the security of Taiwan weakens, it will significantly dent the security strength of the alliance and will be a deadly blow to the security of Japan," Lee said.

He added that since the "common strategic objective" of the alliance was to react to a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan, there was no need for the US and Japan to bow to Chinese pressure.

While calling the Japanese government to develop normal official relations with Taiwan, Lee said the Japanese government's claim that "Taiwan is part of China" is unacceptable and is an ethical stain on Japan.

Lee was referring to Japan's Ministry of Justice's categorizing Taiwanese nationality under China, and its education ministry's approval of school text books that designate Taiwan as being part of Chinese territory.

Experts pooh-pooh China's clout

NOT SO FAST: China wants to replace the US as the dominant foreign power in southeast Asia, but analysts say that various factors could stymie Beijing's bid

By Shih Hsiu-chuan

STAFF REPORTER

While China has been actively enhancing its relations with Southeast Asian nations since the 1990s, international relations experts said that China's strategic goal -- to replace the US' influence in the region -- will be difficult to achieve.

The academics came to the conclusion at a forum on China's rise held by the Mainland Affairs Council and a private foundation in Taipei yesterday.

"China's influence in Southeast Asia seems to be increasing as a result of its sustained capital flows into the area, but I don't think it will get along with those countries," said Yan Jiann-fa, vice chairman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Research and Planning Committee.

There is a general and long-term anxiety in Southeast Asian nations that political development has been threatened by ethnic Chinese, Yan said, noting that the anxiety is sure to get stronger with China's rise in the region.

Lin Wen-cheng, a professor at National Sun Yat-sen University's Institute of Mainland China Studies, said that the roles the US and Japan play are worth noting, as they will watch China's rise in the region and attempt to strengthen their own ties with Southeast Asian countries.

"While China tries to be the main actor dominating the region, the US and Japan will also enhance their cooperative relationship to counter its rise," Lin said.

The China-ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Free Trade Area signed last year is widely considered as the chief avenue by which China aims to enhance its economic clout.

The free-trade pact is scheduled to be completed in 2010, and will form the world's largest common market, with 1.7 billion consumers.

Taiwan has been excluded from the deal, with ASEAN rejecting Taiwan's entry application in 1999 in keeping with Beijing's "one China" policy. Lin Juo-yu, an associate professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, said that China's ambitions in the region go beyond economic integration.

She noted that the East Asia Summit, which will expand on the previous ASEAN plus three formula (which included ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea) will be held next month in Malaysia.

"China has now applied to host the second summit in 2007 and expanded EAS' agenda to political and military issues," she said.

"China also wants to exclude or reduce US influence in the region and considers EAS as a platform to compete with the US-led APEC," she said, noting that China has blocked a suggestion from Japan that the US be allowed to attend the summit as an observer.

While the future direction of EAS remains unknown so far, Lin Juo-yu also cast doubt on China's ability to make the summit and China-ASEAN successful.

It's impossible to generalize about ASEAN's attitude toward China, she said, because countries have such different attitudes -- with some resentful of China for historical reasons, some seeing it as simply a lucrative market and others regarding it as an economic rival.

Analysts unsure if EU will lift China embargo

HARD TO TELL: Experts say that a complex set of factors makes it anyone's guess if and when the EU will lift its embargo on weapons sales to Beijing

CNA, WITH STAFF WRITER , TAIPEI

It's impossible to predict if and when the EU's weapons-sale embargo on China will be lifted, due to the many complex factors affecting the decision, an academic said yesterday.

Tang Shao-cheng of National Chengchi University's Institute of International Relations, said that lifting the embargo would first damage the interests of Russia, which is China's biggest weapons supplier. According to Tang, 80 percent of China's weapons are bought from Russia.

The EU has imposed an embargo on China since the Tiananmen Massacre of 1989, but the issue of lifting the embargo was brought up in late 2003.

Brian McDonald, director of the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan, said that lifting the embargo is "only a political move aimed at being friendly by the European Union."

"Lifting the embargo will not lead to a sale of large quantities and high-quality weaponry. It does not have anything to do with weapons sales, and the embargo lifting is not even clear yet," McDonald claimed.

brisk business

Weapons are still sold to China from European countries even with the embargo. According to Tang, the amount of arms exported to China in 2002 and 2003 by European countries totals 626 million euros (US$735 million), with France the largest exporting country with 277 million euros, followed by the UK (192 million euros), and Italy (150 million euros).

According to Tang, "the principal reason why Europe wishes to lift this embargo on China is mainly to compensate for its trade deficit. The EU enjoyed a trade surplus with China at the beginning of the 1980's. However, EU-China relations are now marked by a widening EU deficit with China, which was 78.5 billion euros in 2004, and it is the EU's biggest lateral deficit."

Commenting on the need for new weapons, Professor Kuo Chiu-ching of Tamkang University's Institute of European Studies claimed: "The Chinese People's Liberation Army needs new weapons to replace their old ones. The EU will lift the embargo but it will also make China sign some United Nations agreements and other agreements on human rights."

`too many factors'

Echoing Kuo's views, Tang said the embargo lifting is just a matter of time, but there are diverse possibilities regarding the changes it might adopt.

"Too many factors will influence this issue, and noone is sure when it will be lifted. The UK's presidency of the EU lasts until this year, giving the reins to Austria for the first half of next year. In the second half, it will be Finland's turn, but in 2007, France will have to elect a new government. So there are too many factors," to allow for anything but speculation at this point, Tang said.

Tang said Britain's relations with the US makes it opposed to lifting the embargo, but Austria might adopt a different stance, so there could be changes in this issue in the coming year.

"Russia already feels threatened by this issue, but it cannot act because it has to maintain its relations with China. This is why a China-Russia large-scale joint military exercise was held this year," Tang said.

Commenting on Chinese President Hu Jintao's recent visit to Europe, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Ing-wen said that Hu traveled to Europe mostly to discuss economic issues.

"He might try to talk about it, but in such meetings, economic issues are more suitable," she said.

Chen blasts opposition for undermining nation

DISGRUNTLED: President Chen said that the pan-blue camp was blocking crucial reform and boxing in the government with its gloomy, pro-China outlook

CNA , TAIPEI

President Chen Shui-bian lashed out yesterday at the pro-unification opposition parties' attempts to cripple the government, calling their machinations the biggest crisis facing the nation's development.

Chen made the remarks while giving a speech at the opening of the annual meeting of an international trade and commerce workshop held in Tainan County, his birthplace.

A disgruntled Chen accused the opposition of trying to undermine the government's reform efforts and undercutting the nation's bargaining power, saying that their attempts to make the government yield to their China policies and to hobble the government are the biggest crises in Taiwan's development.

Chen stressed that Taiwan is not in as bad a shape as opposition leaders have claimed, and said that he is confident that the domestic economy will soon get stronger.

Pointing out that he believes the nation's per-capita income will reach US$15,156 for this year, he said that there is hard evidence that Taiwan's exports and imports last month hit five-year monthly highs of US$19.1 billion and US$16.4 billion.

In addition, he said that private-sector investment in the home market in the first three quarters already reached 85 percent of the yearly target of NT$860 billion (US$24.3 billion) set by the government for this year, while the national coffers collected NT$1.33 trillion in taxes in the first 10 months of the year -- a historic high for the January-October period.

A sharp ideological divide has driven some people to sing the blues over Taiwan's future, but the nation's destiny does not lie in opening direct links or in bracing for integration with China, he argued. Taking Hong Kong as an example, he said that the former British colony has lost its luster after it was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The president made it clear that the nation will never become a province of China and asserted that maintaining a Taiwanese identity and having the will to sacrifice for the homeland will be the decisive factors for the country's future.

Awaiting a strong message

By Lee Long-hwa, UNITED STATES

Dear President George W. Bush: Soon you will meet with President Hu Jintao, dictator of China. It is important to me, that as my president, and to hundreds of millions of others in the US, Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Japan, China and around the globe, that you represent us in your meeting with Hu as a beacon of the free, with the strength and conviction that comes from certainty of purpose and path, and from confidence in certain truths we know to be "self-evident" and undeniable.

If you ever should feel even the slightest bit "outnumbered" in the heart of tyranny on foreign shores, please remember that we as a multitude also believe in these eternal truths, and that our belief will never waver.

Diplomacy will require certain comity, politeness and collegiality, but allegiance to these truths must shine, and even a handshake with a dictator must show the determination of what is right over what is not.

The lives and livelihoods, liberty and happiness, and hope of billions rides on that handshake and your determination. In that moment, Hu must fully understand that the tenure of tyranny is short, and the power of democracy, which you represent, is unlimited and overwhelming.

I trust you to relay both this message and this impression, with your strength and determination, and your dedication to these ideals we labor to bring to the oppressed peoples of the world.

I hope you are not pressed to speak ill of democracy in Taiwan, or Hong Kong, or of the hope of freedom of worship in Tibet, and if you are pressed, you call upon that strength to resist.

None of the tens of millions in Taiwan or Tibet should be sacrificed in the name of diplomacy, for comity with evil is evil itself.

I know you are committed to freedom. You have pronounced it many, many times, often in the face of adversity, and when you have, my heart has soared. It is important, and fitting, for the US to be in the forefront of the quest for liberty, as the seeds of democracy were planted on our shores.

I would like you to know that there are millions in Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong and China who look to the US to bring a strong message to Beijing about human rights, freedom of speech and religion and about our unrelenting opposition to China's determination to exterminate those it deems a threat, including all those in China who deign to speak out against tyranny and oppression, and all those who yearn for freedom in Tibet and Taiwan. There is no room on Earth for such views, in particular those held by a nation determined to become a world power.

You have met the Dalai Lama recently. If you talked with President Chen Shui-bian, you would know the support that exists in Taiwan for freedom -- not the yearning for conflict or controversy, but only to be free.

That China would prevent this or try to prevent you from even speaking with either man, is evidence of the cowardice and tyranny implicit in the Chinese dictatorship.

I ask you to be mindful of these things as you represent the US and freedom itself.

Media fail to tell right from wrong

THE LIBERTY TIMES EDITORIAL

On Nov. 1, poet Tu Shi-san called the Premier Frank Hsieh's office in the name of the Taiwan Liberation Alliance and threatened to kill Hsieh and his entire family. The case was handled quickly, and social uproar ensued. However, some media groups have chosen to portray the poet as a hero or glorious warrior. This kind of behavior can often lead to confusion among the public over what kind of behavior is right and wrong.

After Tu was arrested on Nov. 7, Hsieh made it known that he would not press charges, while the poet apologized and then expressed his regret. However, threatening others is an indictable offense and he should be punished according to the law for what he did. That would be the correct way to proceed in a healthy, law-abiding society. Surprisingly, for reasons entirely their own, some media groups have chosen to glorify Tu's crimes in their news reports and editorials.

A few so-called academics and literati have even argued that his threats were the result of righteous indignation, a poet's anger, part of a piece of performance art, an intellectual's conscience and a release of fury. They have tried to justify his crime. Not only have they not condemned the violence, but they have criticized the government for not accounting for itself. Such people mislead the public into thinking that the crime of intimidation is a suitable revolutionary action against unsatisfactory political situations. They have placed a halo above the head of the criminal, in the same manner as in the case of the "rice bomber." It should be a matter of considerable concern when values become so confused.

Hsieh complained that those who support Tu do not "place any value on the lives of other people's children," and regretted that the situation in Taiwan is now comparable to China's Cultural Revolution. During the decade-long Cultural Revolution that broke out around 1965, the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong mobilized the innocent but passionate youth, laborers, and the general public of China, using the banner "revolutions are guiltless, rebellions are justified" in order to bring down his political rivals within the Chinese Communist Party. The chaos and destruction of the Cultural Revolution lay in the lawlessness of society and rule by mob trial. What is the difference between this and the sections of the media that ignore the law and praise violence?

In Tu's case, it can be attributed to a perversion in the Taiwanese media. This can be traced back to the beginning of Taiwan's push for democratization and localization. These media groups cherished the "Greater China" vision and therefore enjoyed the patronage of the authoritarian government. However, after Taiwan's democratization and localization began, they lost their vested interests and failed to adapt to the new environment, new systems and new atmosphere. They also resisted the tide of time with their radical ethnic and pro-unification ideologies.

From news reports and editorials to television talk shows, they are full of hateful anti-Taiwan sentiment that disrupts ethnic harmony and foments social confrontation, constantly attacking the government and President Chen Shui-bian on the behalf of the pan-blue camp. Some of the pro-China media also play the role of Beijing's mouthpiece by denying Taiwan's self-awareness as a result of their adherence to a pro-unification agenda.

These media groups have spared no effort in smearing Taiwan and arousing conflicts and confrontations over the past 10 years or so. Taiwan appears to be good for nothing in their reports and editorials. The native regime is incompetent, its morality is suspect, social order is non-existent and the government is in conflict with the business sector. Taiwan is apparently a living hell in their eyes. Brainwashed by these media groups day and night, some members of the public have therefore developed unbalanced impressions. As their discontent mounts, their anger finally gets out of control, leading to irrational behavior.

Tu's deplorable death threats to Hsieh and his family were a result of the poisonous propaganda distributed by the pro-China media. But even after he was arrested, these groups decided to ignore the law and lavish him with praise. This shows that they are not only the cause of this incident but also the defenders of evil and glorifiers of violence. In other words, this case has once again highlighted the fact that the pro-China media prefer to promote instability.

Taiwan can learn from recent riots in France

By Johnny Lin

`European countries have been plagued by ethnic tensions resulting from immigration. These tensions should serve as a wake-up call for Taiwan.'

The recent wave of riots in France -- the worst the country has seen since the 1968 student revolts -- indicates that the integration of immigrants has become an explosive issue in France. In fact, most of the nations in Western Europe have yet to properly handle the issue of multicultural integration. Over the past 10 years, advanced European countries have been plagued by ethnic tensions resulting from immigration. These tensions should serve as a wake-up call for Taiwan, which is also composed of different ethnic groups and faces similar immigration issues.

The World Bank recently released a report entitled International Migration, Remittances and the Brain Drain. The report said that the reason developing countries cannot catch up with developed countries is because around 30 percent to 50 percent of the talent in developing countries has moved to developed world. However, not all the immigrants in developed countries are skilled workers. If these people cannot quickly adapt themselves to their new home, then social problems relating to education, crime and discrimination in the workplace will certainly arise.

In Taiwan, young people with higher incomes tend to get married later in life and usually do not want to have too many children. However, some men in the middle or lower income brackets face various socio-economic constraints that compel them to marry brides from China or Southeast Asian countries. While higher income couples actively practice birth control, these lower-income couples often produce large families. The result is that birth patterns for various socio-economic groups have become unbalanced.

Similarly, Taiwan has certain characteristics that belong to an immigrant society. Earlier immigrants sometimes oppressed, discriminated against and even exploited newcomers. There is also a gap between the Chinese or Vietnamese brides and the Taiwanese. Some people tease or discriminate against children whose mothers are foreigners, especially those from developing countries.

Children who suffer discrimination will often grow up with distorted personalities, and their anger, lack of self-confidence and other factors often make them a source of social disorder. From a political perspective, the imbalance within socio-economic groups easily leads to a polarization of society, destroying the middle class. A political system without the support of a middle class quickly becomes a hotbed of extreme or even fascist policies.

These are the contradictions and conflicts brought about by political, cultural and racial differences. Rectifying the imbalances in our society resulting from a failure to integrate workers from developing countries is a matter of considerable importance. If we do not get it right, we may also risk social implosion in the coming decades.

Johnny Lin is a staff member of the Democratic Progressive Party's department of Chinese affairs.