KMT legislator backs US on larger defense budget

`REASONABLE SPENDING': Legislator Hsieh Wen-cheng said his party was not opposed to buying more weapons, just to the idea of using a special budget to pay for them

By Jimmy Chuang

STAFF REPORTER , WITH CNA

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, who have blocked the special arms procurement bill because they object to the government using a special budget to pay for the weapon systems, may be moving to support a US suggestion that Taiwan increase its annual defense spending from 2.4 percent of GDP to 3 percent.

Reporting to the legislature's Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Taiwan's representative to the US David Lee confirmed that Washington has suggested that the government increase its annual defense spending to 3 percent of GDP in order to accommodate the latest arms procurement package from the US in its regular annual budget.

"I absolutely agree with this new idea," KMT Legislator Hsieh Wen-cheng said yesterday on the legislative floor.

"As a matter of fact, the KMT has never boycotted the [special arms budget] proposal. But we insist that the money be spent reasonably," he said.

Hsieh said the KMT is against the idea of using an individual budget to purchase military weapons because it is very easy to create more financial problems for the government. The KMT has also always complained about the high price of the weapons purchased from the US, he said.

"We believe that this is definitely negotiable," Hsieh said. "We just need more work on it. That is all."

Hsieh's support for the suggestion was not welcomed wholeheartedly by the pan-green camp.

DPP Legislator Wang To-far said Hsieh's attitude was not sincere.

"[The pan-blue camp] has boycotted the arms procurement bill 41 times. Is that what he claimed -- that `the KMT never boycotted the proposal?'" Wang said.

Wang said that the pan-blue camp's boycott had also hampered the work of other lawmakers.

"If it is a necessary proposal, we shall authorize it as soon as possible. Constant boycotting like this will only slow down our work and is very annoying," he said.

Wang said Taiwan's defense spending as a percentage of its GDP is low compared to China's 4.3 percent, Singapore's 4.9 percent, the US' 3.3 percent and Israel's 8.7 percent.

Two civic organizations opposed to the special arms budget voiced their objections yesterday to increasing the defense budget, saying a hike in defense spending would encourage an endless arms race across the Taiwan Strait, which "Taiwan would definitely lose."

Huang Kuang-kuo, convener of the Democratic Action Alliance, said he is disappointed that the KMT is ready to "yield to US pressure."

Huang said Taiwan's annual defense spending -- as a ratio of GDP -- is already higher than South Korea's 2.1 percent and Japan's 2.01 percent.

Chang Ya-chung, convener of the Anti-Arms Procurement Alliance, accused the US of asking Taiwan to buy the P-3C marine-patrol aircraft, Patriot PAC-III anti-missile systems and diesel-electric submarines just to facilitate its own strategic planning in the Asia-Pacific region.

Lee says military unprepared for threat

By Chang Yun-ping

STAFF REPORTER

The military's failure to adjust to keep up with the US global military redeployment has undermined Taiwan's defense capabilities in the face of the Chinese threat of a "sudden attack," former president Lee Teng-hui said yesterday.

He made the comments at a forum titled "The Transformation and Redeployment of the US Military and the Security Alliance in Asia" sponsored by Taiwan's National Security Institute and Japan's Asia Security Forum.

While the US is engaging in one of its most significant global military redeployments since the end of World War II and Japan is making fast and clear changes in tune with the US military repositioning, Taiwan is "in the dark" about the threats posed by the Chinese, Lee said.

A laggard military is not making an adequate effort to improve its defense capabilities, he said.

Lee said China has abandoned its previous "stick" approach of issuing rhetorical threats against Taiwan, and has begun using soft approaches, including economic "carrots" to make the Taiwanese lower their guard.

In light of China's booming economic power, which will culminate between 2008 and 2010 with the Beijing Olympic Games and the World Exposition in Shanghai, Lee said Beijing will not launch a large-scale invasion by openly mobilizing its troops.

Instead Beijing will opt for a stealthy "sudden strike" while Taiwan's guard is lowered, he said.

Drawing a lesson from the US' unpreparedness for Pearl Harbor, Lee urged Taiwan to stay alert at all times to the imminent Chinese threat.

"We must let our enemies know that we're alert at all times, so it will complicate the Chinese strategy to overwhelm Taiwan with a sudden attack," Lee said.

National Security Institute director Ng Chiau-tong (黃昭堂) proposed that Taiwan help share the burden of the US-Japan security alliance by allowing the US to station troops in this country.

Referring to the US Universal Jurisdiction Rejection Act of 2003, which designated Taiwan as a major non-NATO ally, Ng said that pushing for the US to deploy troops here was not a futile idea since Taiwan is practically an ally anyway.

Suzuki Masataka, a former Japanese lawmaker and defense official, gave a talk on the asymmetrical developments of political and economic cross-strait relations.

He urged Taiwan to take the growing Chinese military threat seriously. He also cautioned that Taiwan must not to let its defenses down in the face of economic enticements from China.

Military risks becoming a burden to the US: expert

By Rich Chang

STAFF REPORTER

"Allies who are unable to keep up with the US' pace in developing weapons will become increasingly irrelevant to the US military, and Taiwan could be one of the countries to find itself in this situation."－Chang Hsi-mo, associate professor, Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies,National Sun Yat-sen University

A security expert warned yesterday that Taiwan's military needs to avoid becoming a burden to the US in East Asia as the latter's military capability displays cutting-edge technological developments.

"As the US military becomes able to work faster and more effectively in the region, it will become less dependent on its allies," said Chang Hsi-mo, an associate professor in the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies at National Sun Yat-sen University.

"Allies who are unable to keep up with the US' pace in developing weapons will become increasingly irrelevant to the US military, and Taiwan could be one of the countries to find itself in this situation," he said.

Chang made the comments at a forum sponsored by Taiwan's National Security Institute and Japan's Asia Security Forum.

"Because of cuts in Taiwan's military budget in recent years, its failure to approve the arms procurement bill and to purchase three advanced weapons systems from the US, and the country's inability to conduct substantial military exchanges with the US and Japan due to the lack of official diplomatic ties with the two countries, Taiwan's military is not only falling behind, but is also isolated," he said.

As a result, Chang said that the US and Japan would increasingly come to see Taiwan's military as a burden, rather than an asset.

He recommended that the government and the military tackle the problem as soon as possible.

The US' superpower status stems from it having the most advanced navy in the world -- in terms of both ship quantity and quality -- and its lead in space military technologies, Chang said.

The development of revolutionary new weapons is enhancing the US' military capabilities and shortening its response times around the world, he said.

"US military power will dominate the world and no country will be able to challenge this power as a result of the US' `revolution in military affairs' program, which emphasizes the development of weapons by advancing technologies, military organizations and operational concepts," he said.

For example, Chang said, the US is developing a scramjet which will be commissioned in the next 10 years.

This highly advanced fighter will be able to fly at 15 times the speed of sound, enabling it to cover the distance between Seattle and Beijing in less than half an hour, he said.

Chinese defector tells of monitoring work

By Shih Hsiu-chuan

STAFF REPORTER

A Chinese political dissident who once served in China's security services yesterday said that the "610 office" does exist -- despite the denial of Beijing authorities -- and is the secret agency that implements repressive measures to eliminate dissidents.

Hao Fengjun, who was once in charge of monitoring China-based Taiwanese businesspeople, religious groups and Falun Gong members, made the remarks at a press conference in Taipei.

"While I yearned when I was young to become a police officer to serve the country by maintaining public security, it turned out that the role of a policeman in the country is to cruelly oppress people who do not conform to the government's ideas," Hao said.

Unable to endure his work any longer, Hao escaped from China in February, seeking political asylum in Australia, where he obtained a permanent protection visa in July.

The 610 office is an agency specifically created to persecute political dissidents, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Chinese Communist Party and all other political and judiciary systems, Hao said.

"The office, established on June 10, 1999 under the instruction of (former president) Chiang Zemin, is an agency similar to the Gestapo, even though the government hasn't admitted the agency exists," Hao said.

He said that about 14 associations set up to practice breathing techniques (qigong) and 14 religious organizations are under the control of the secret agency.

Hao also worked in the Tianjin branch of the "610 office," where his job was to collect and analyze information reported by citizens about Falun Gong practitioners.

"The 610 office where I worked had authority over other local government bodies to direct them to persecute Falun Gong," Hao said.

"I couldn't stand seeing people who have no intention of overturning the government being persecuted," the defector said.

He said that Taiwanese people in China who have specific religious beliefs are also being monitored by the Chinese government.

"The 610 office often monitored their whereabouts or threatened them with tax inspections," he said.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Winston Dang, who accompanied Hao to the press conference yesterday, called on the government to think of ways to help Taiwanese businesspeople in China who face such threats.

DPP should stay the course

By Huang Jei-hsuan

Following the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) overwhelming victory over the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the recent county and municipal elections, some of the international media predicted that the KMT would succeed in forcing their pro-unification agenda through both the legislative and the executive branches of the government.

But the election results far more likely reflected a myriad of local factors, rather than voters' rejection of Taiwan's continuing democratization. In other words, the result may have signaled widespread dissatisfaction with the conduct of the messengers, but hardly of the message of democratization itself.

Still, this clarification mitigates neither the burden of a resounding defeat on the DPP, nor the crisis the defeat entails.

In reality, one of the first consequences of the elections was a clarion call from the public for top-to-bottom reform of the DPP. This was accompanied by a chorus of demands to further "deregulate" cross-strait relations.

There is no doubt that the DPP needs reform. After all, a political party's primary function is to perform well in elections. Every time there is a colossal failure, reform is a must.

Nevertheless, it is reasonable to question whether a party, with a leadership prone to factional squabbles is capable of truly transforming itself, without having the efforts disintegrate into endless recriminations, further aggravating the crisis.

Alternatively, perhaps a team of outside experts should be assembled to look into the existing structures and come up with recommendations for changes. One of the important questions that begs for an answer is how to remain competitive in local politics without emulating the KMT's culture of corruption.

Regarding cross-strait relations, what the KMT is offering focuses on short-term benefits, at the expense of Taiwan's long-term interests. Still, the KMT's message of an illusionary "peace and prosperity" has found a receptive audience among Taiwanese who are willing to temporarily cast aside their reservations about the KMT's past and present transgressions.

Conversely, given that the DPP is taking the long-term view of Taiwan's national security which in turn guarantees Taiwan's continuing democratization, the DPP's approach to cross-strait affairs often imposes on the public various degrees of short-term sacrifice -- be it time or profit.

Therefore, unless politicians and government officials from the DPP conduct themselves with a similar spirit of self-sacrifice, the DPP's message on cross-strait issues will go nowhere.

In other words, it serves little purpose for the pan-green camp to bemoan the general public's lack of farsightedness, or their collective amnesia about the KMT's 50-year abuse of power in Taiwan.

It is not surprising that the Taiwanese people would hold DPP politicians to a high standard, with a squeaky-clean record a minimum requirement.

All of this might also partially explain why so many people, including some within the DPP, are in favor of removing "burdensome" regulations. Yet, further deregulation is the wrong medicine for the DPP.

For one thing, the enhancement of the nation's long-term interests is the DPP's raison d'etre. If deregulation is found to be detrimental to those interests, it should be curtailed instead of being expanded.

Moreover, from a practical point of view, further deregulation will erode the DPP's hard-core support base, which is apparently willing to overlook the DPP's shortcomings as long as it is upholds its core values.

Conversely, given that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) hinted, prior to the elections, at the necessity of reversing some of the deregulations on account of the nation's security concerns, this is the best time to demonstrate to the Taiwanese people that he has finally rid himself of his perceived tendency to vacillate, and that he is resuming his advocacy for continued democratization, rather than further deregulation.

Viewing these latest elections from a broader perspective, the pan-green camp should be able to take some comfort in the fact that it still garnered 42 percent of the votes even under "perfect storm" conditions for the KMT. The next major elections are two years away. And two years is an eternity given Taiwan's fickle voter sentiment.

The DPP should just shape up and stay the course.

Huang Jei-hsuan

California

Pan-blues show true colors at NCC review

By Chen I-shen

The review committee of the National Communications Commission (NCC) held its public hearings for nominees between Dec. 9 and Dec. 11. As one of the 11 committee members, I witnessed the pan-blue camp's maneuvers. The pro-blue reviewers, who tried to assert their professionalism during the review process, talked the talk, but did not walk the walk.

According to the Organic Law of the National Communications Commission, which was signed into law by President Chen Shui-bian on Nov. 9, the NCC will take over from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Government Information Office as the authority in charge of issuing or renewing media licenses, enacting media regulations and meting out punishment.

Despite the significance of the NCC's establishment, the local media did not pay much attention to the three-day review process. Perhaps it was a result of the structure of the review committee, which was made up of six pro-blue and five pro-green reviewers. Since the law states that a nominee needs just more than half of the votes in the second round of the review process, it became a power struggle among the political parties. Did the media pay so little attention to the review process because it was superficial?

In fact, some reviewers had already sent questions to the nominees and received written answers beforehand. Also, the review process was open to the public and broadcast online in real time. It was transparent, rational and serious.

Three consensuses were reached during the process. First, the excessive number of TV news stations and their pursuit of ratings have often damaged quality. Second, the NCC is an independent body -- unlike the Fair Trade Commission, the NCC members do not have to attend meetings of the Executive Yuan. Third, the digital gap should be narrowed to bridge the gap between different social classes as well as urban and rural areas.

Still, in terms of unlicensed radio stations, the pan-blue camp's reviewers were mostly in favor of a crackdown disregarding historical factors and realistic obstacles, and I repeatedly opposed this. There were also several debates on the restriction against foreign capital in the media, and most reviewers agreed that it is acceptable to limit foreign investment on scarce wireless frequencies and telecommunication networks for the sake of national security, public order and local culture.

But when the reviewers cast their ballots, the pan-blue camp's reviewers had reached an agreement in advance to vote for just nine nominees, while the pan-green camp's reviewers kindly voted for 13 nominees. As a result, almost all the pan-blue camp's nominees passed the threshold in the first round, except for Lee Tzu-yuan, former general manager of the Broadcasting Corp of China, who had been nominated by the People First Party (PFP). National Chiao Tung University professor Lin Yi-bing and National Chengchi University professor Liu Zong-de even got the committee's full support by winning 11 votes each.

As for the pan-green camp's nominees, National Dong Hwa University professor Howard Shyr and National Chengchi University professor Weng Shieu-chi passed by winning eight and seven votes respectively. Nominees who needed to win more than half the votes in the second round had to rely on the mercy of the pan-blue camp's reviewers.

After witnessing this unpleasant voting process, I quickly withdrew and left the battlefield.

Chen I-shen is an associate researcher in the Institute of Modern History at Academia Sinica and the deputy chairman of the Northern Society.