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US senators concerned by arms freeze
　

LETTER TO BUSH: The senators asked the White House to clarify the status of weapons requests. The ‘Defense News’ said Taiwan could face trouble trying to restart arms sales

STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA, WASHINGTON
Wednesday, Jul 09, 2008, Page 1

Fourteen US senators have written to US President George W. Bush to express their concerns about reports of a possible freeze on all arms sales to Taiwan.

Noting that the US government is legally bound under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) to provide Taiwan with the “defense articles and services that enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability,” the senators said any freeze on arms sales would violate the spirit of the TRA.

The June 30 letter was signed by Republican James Inhofe and Democrat Tim Johnson, co-chairs of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, and 12 of their colleagues.

The Bush administration is reportedly sitting on congressional notifications related to a number of weapons systems requested by Taiwan, including sea-launched Harpoon missiles, Patriot PAC-3 missile batteries, 30 Apache helicopters and 66 F-16 fighter aircraft.

The senators said they have made attempts to clarify the status of these requests, but to no avail.

“We request a briefing on the status of these sales from all appropriate agencies, and urge the administration to expeditiously execute consideration of these requests,” the senators wrote.

The senators said the military and strategic imperatives for Taiwan are “real and urgent,” adding that according to Pentagon estimates, Beijing’s total defense spending for last year could be as high as US$139 billion —- more than triple the amount publicized by China.

“Taiwan has a right to be ‘secure,’ and that can only be guaranteed by an unambiguous and non-negotiable commitment from the United States to provide Taiwan with weapons systems consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act,” they said.

The Washington-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) — an overseas Taiwanese group — urged the Bush administration on Monday to process the arms sales to Taiwan as soon as possible.

FAPA president Bob Yang (楊英育) said the US should help Taiwan preserve its democracy and freedom, and delaying arms sales would undermine Taiwan’s ability to protect its sovereignty and reduce its bargaining chips in negotiating with China.

Meanwhile, the latest edition of Defense News reports that any attempts by Taipei to get arms sales back up and running could fall afoul of Beijing’s increasingly deft tactics and its growing clout in Washington.

China has become an expert at using excuses to slow sales to Taiwan, the magazine quoted retired US Admiral Dennis Blair, a former commander of the US Pacific Command, as saying.

“Bush is [going] to China for the Olympics, there is an APEC summit here, there is a conference there, and pretty soon they’ll have the whole calendar blocked out,” the magazine cited Blair as saying.

“It’s ‘never a good time’ to approve these arms sales,” he said.

“China’s increasingly skillful charm-offensive tactics has put Taiwan in a difficult position in conducting diplomacy in Washington,” Alexander Huang (黃介正), an associate of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in the weekly.

Listen to the voice

Chinese group tours Presidential Office

STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Wednesday, Jul 09, 2008, Page 1
　

Questioned by reporters as they were touring the Presidential Office yesterday, some members of a Chinese tour group said they “yearned for” democracy.

For most of their 50-minute visit, however, the tour group tried to keep a low profile and avoided the pursuing TV and newspaper reporters.

Their tour was the first time Chinese tourists had visited the Presidential Office.

Members of the group from Guangdong Province walked through the winding corridors of the first floor of the Presidential Office and saw an architectural exhibition as well as documents of Japanese colonial governors and presidents.

The group also received memorial Presidential Office stamps.

Tsai Sheng-chin (蔡勝進), a volunteer guide, said he talked about Taiwan’s democracy and how the country elects a president, its former presidents and Taiwan’s governors during the Japanese colonial period.

He said he had gone out of his way to tell the Chinese tourists that the space for a photograph following that of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) remained open and could be filled by anyone over 40 years old — a comment he said drew laughter from the group.

Tsai said the Chinese did not express any opinions about former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

Listen to the voice

Exporting freedom of speech

Wednesday, Jul 09, 2008, Page 8

Shortly after winning the March election, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) sang the praises of soft power. Taiwan can help China on the path to democratization by increasing cross-strait contact, Ma said, giving the Chinese a first-hand look at the nation’s democracy and freedoms.

When the first cross-strait charter flights arrived on Friday, at least three groups of demonstrators welcomed them: unificationists, Falun Gong practitioners and Tibetans advocating independence. The Chinese tourists responded by taking photographs.

Indeed, these sights are probably more exotic to the average Chinese than, for example, Tainan’s Fort Provincia, and may prove more memorable. What tourists will hopefully remember is a respectful and peaceful scene as the two groups with fundamentally different ideologies — Tibetan independence activists and deep-blue nationalists — stood waving flags and placards across the street from one another.

That scene was a far cry from the chaotic picture that Beijing often paints to justify its iron-hand rule with the argument that democracy and Chinese culture don’t mix.

The tourists who arrived at Songshan Airport on Friday — and who likely heard much from Chinese state media about cultural “brainwashing” in Taiwan — may have also been surprised to find that unificationists are free to publicly express their opinions.

Unfortunately, Tainan City officials expressed concern about Falun Gong practitioners promoting their cause in front of tourist spots that are expected to draw Chinese visitors. The belief system is forbidden in China, where it has been the target of vitriol and ruthless persecution since 1999.

After drawing criticism for allegedly seeking to avoid a meeting between Falun Gong devotees and Chinese tourism bureau representatives last month, Tainan officials tried to shift the focus from the appeasement of Chinese tourists. They claimed the presence of Falun Gong devotees had long been a problem, scaring visitors away from the 17th century fort. Who these easily offended tourists were remains unclear.

Falun Gong petitioners can be seen handing out pamphlets in front of tourist attractions in the US and Europe, and in these places there is no talk of tucking them away out of the sight of Chinese tourists.

Days before the arrival of the first charter flights, the Tourism Bureau responded to the debate sparked in Tainan, saying it would seek to avoid encounters between Falun Gong practitioners and Chinese tourists. But, recognizing the difficulty of this, it said Taiwanese tour guides would clarify to tourists that freedom of speech applies to everyone and ask the visitors to remain calm if approached by a demonstrator.

If a few dozen retirees in yellow shirts sitting outside the National Palace Museum in the lotus position offends or frightens Chinese tourists, it is not the responsibility of government officials to cater to that aversion. On the contrary, they are obliged to protect freedom of speech.

On the other hand, making clear to visitors that freedom of speech — and religion — applies to everyone in Taiwan is an excellent course of action.

This latter approach not only avoids infringing on those freedoms, it is a clear illustration of what Ma advocated in April. Only by exhibiting, rather than trying to conceal, the functions of an open and free society can there be hope of gradually exporting democratic values to an authoritarian neighbor.