Poll shows strong support for Taiwan

PERCEPTIVE: The Gallup poll of Americans and Europeans said that most consider Taiwan to be a separate state and that its features rank more favorably than China's

By Jimmy Chuang

STAFF REPORTER , WITH AGENCIES

The result of a recent poll that was conducted by the US-based Gallup Organization showed that more than 60 percent of the interviewees in five countries see Taiwan as a sovereign country, and also that most people view it more favorably than China.

The Government Information Office (GIO) commissioned Gallup to study the country's image among opinion leaders and the general public in the US, Japan, France, Germany and the UK.

The result of the study showed that Japanese favor Taiwan over China by a margin of almost two to one, slightly more than the gap recorded for Americans.

The result also showed that the three European countries also favor Taiwan over its rival, but did not give specifics.

The survey showed that the strongest impressions for most interviewees in all five countries about Taiwan were of the country's advanced technology, its strong economy, "delicious" food and natural attractions.

As for the strongest impression about Taiwanese people, most interviewees felt that Taiwanese people were hard-working, friendly as well as peace-loving.

Taiwan has been trying for years to regain admission to the UN, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international organizations, but Chinese pressure has convinced most countries not to support it.

Still, the survey showed that the majority of interviewees supported Taiwan's application to the UN, while more than 72 percent supported Taiwan's joining the WHO.

The Gallup survey, which has a margin of error of 3 percent, was conducted by telephone in May and June. Pollsters interviewed 1,500 adults from the general public and 200 opinion leaders in each of the five countries.

"The government should reflect how to translate these positive attitudes toward Taiwan into action," said Lo Chih-cheng, the executive director of the Institute for National Policy Research.

"It is a sign that China's campaign to undermine the country's legitimacy is not working at all," said GIO Minister Pasuya Yao.

"The study also showed us that more than 60 percent of the respondents in the five countries see Taiwan and China as two separate sovereign countries," he said.

Taiwanese academics said that the survey's results make it imperative for the government to develop a concrete strategy to take advantage of the support it enjoys.

Historians must review Taiwan's past: president

PRIORITY: President Chen Shui-bian said yesterday that local history should be re-interpreted to establish a `Taiwanese historical perspective' for the entire nation

CNA , TAIPEI

Establishing a "Taiwanese historical perspective" to interpret local history from the Taiwanese people's point of view is a priority job for local historians now that Taiwan has achieved democracy, President Chen Shui-bian said yesterday.

"In a democratized Taiwan, we don't need to create any more political myths or political dogma but need to face up to history honestly," Chen said.

"What we need to work hardest on now is establishing a Taiwan-based `Taiwanese historical perspective,' in addition to realizing the ideals of democracy and human rights," he said.

Chen made the remarks while addressing a seminar on the history of the Republic of China, which focused on the history of Taiwan between 1950 and 1960.

Chen said that in the 20th century, the Taiwanese people were subjected to Japanese colonial rule and authoritarian rule but they still created an economic miracle and later achieved democracy.

"However, there are still crises and important challenges in the democratized Taiwanese society and we need to get to the bottom of these problems," Chen said.

Chen said that Taiwan was seriously distorted under the KMT's rule in the 1950s and 1960s, with political myths being the norm and speech and press freedoms restricted by martial law.

"During that historical period, the words of the people in power were aimed at propping up their regime, which confused the true history. Up until today, it is still not easy for us to restore the true appearance of that evolving era," Chen said.

He said that the history of Taiwan belongs to all the people here and cannot be monopolized or interpreted unilaterally by a minority of people.

Chen said that the true meaning of interpreting Retrocession Day anew from the historical perspective of the Taiwanese people is "to be our own masters," and historical tragedies will repeat themselves if the people do not defend their right to be their own masters.

He said the cultural and structural problems passed down from the past authoritarian rule require serious and in-depth reflection but admitted that it is a difficult task to get rid of the historical burden to establish a historical perspective that is consistent with the collective memory of the Taiwanese people.

To attain this goal, it is most crucial for the concepts of freedom, democracy, human rights and Taiwanese identity to take root in the hearts of the Taiwanese people, he said.

Beware supping with the enemy

How would you feel if you had been called a freak even before you were born? How would you feel if someone accused you of breaking the law before you had even conveyed a single thought?

This seems to be the case in the recent uproar over the VCDs produced by Lin Yi-fang, titled Ugliness Behind the Beautiful.

Long before its content was made public, a number of pan-blue politicians such as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu, Taoyuan County Commissioner Chu Li-lun and lawmakers and guests on TV talk shows had fired volleys of allegations against the VCDs and called them a "nasty trick" by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to influence next week's election.

The problem is that none of them have actually viewed the VCDs.

So why all the exasperation, fuss and fantasies about the VCDs? All we can say -- once again -- is that this reflects absurdity, ignorance and lack of democratic capacity in these critics.

Taoyuan County police last week seized film footage in a Taipei studio that purportedly contains subject matter insinuating that Chu -- who is seeking re-election -- had had various extramarital affairs.

The Publication Law was abolished in 1999, as well as Article 100 of the Criminal Code in 1992, which had allowed people suspected of plotting to overthrow the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime to be charged with sedition. The government has since ceased compulsory censorship of publications.

VCDs, as a type of publication, are protected by the freedom of speech and publication enshrined in Article 11 of the Constitution.

Freedom of speech -- as Vice President Annette Lu had on Monday reminded everyone -- prohibits the government from conducting any form of "prior compulsory censorship."

Whether the VCDs are legal or not can only be determined after they have been released.

Yet the Taoyuan police applied censorship by withholding the discs without proper reason before they were released, shockingly reminding many of us of the White Terror in the martial law era under the KMT.

It is quite ironic that a disgraceful incident such as raiding a studio would happen under the DPP administration, which prides itself on its role as a protector of freedom of expression.

In fact, some members of the DPP administration are echoing the pan-blues' arguments that releasing the VCDs is in violation of the Election and Recall Law. They had obviously departed from the spirit of "protecting freedom of speech" which the DPP supposedly honors.

DPP officials need to stop their wishful thinking that their tolerance of the pan-blues will secure more cooperation at the Legislative Yuan.

Supping with the enemy is going to gain the DPP administration neither respect nor support from the pan-blues. It will only help the pan-blues fortify their scheme to paralyze the DPP administration, and leave the government -- sadly and stupidly -- to become a witless pawn in oppressing freedom of expression all over again.