Oct.24,2000 --- To: Walter Schwimmer, Trent Lott, Denny Hastert

[ Up ]

U.S. officials believe that the North Korean leaders, after years of food shortages and economic decline, see cooperation with the outside world as the best way to bring prosperity without giving up power like the communists of eastern Europe; but on the Beijing’s side is not so much sure, as that Chinese leader’s never forget history of empire’s invader.

President Bill Clinton has signed the mainland China trade bill, a hard-fought victory for the White House that promises to open markets in the communist country to billions of dollars in U.S. goods and services.

Even as he signed the bill, the president was dispatching U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky to Beijing to nudge the Chinese to complete its agreements to join the World Trade Organization. Talks are stalled as China backpedals on details of its trade accords with the United States and other nations.

“Our work is not over when I sign the bill. China still must complete its WTO accession agreements,” Clinton said. “But when it happens, China will open its markets to American products from wheat to cars to consulting services, and our companies will be far more able to sell goods without moving facilities or investments there.

Clinton was joined at the ceremony on the South Lawn by several members of the cabinet and about 50 Republican and Democratic lawmakers. The measure passed the House 237-197 on May 24 after much arm-twisting by the White House. It easily passed the Senate, 83-15, on Sept. 19.

“In case you’ve all forgotten, this thing was hard to pass,” Clinton joked. “This was a lot of trouble.”

In Beijing, the government’s Xinhua News Agency in a brief report on the signing said the trade bill serves the “fundamental interests of the people of the two sides.”

Ending the annual review of mainland China’s trade privileges “benefits the advancement of China-U.S. trade cooperation and the continued forward development of relations between China and the United States,” Xinhua said.

Clinton maintained that opening markets to U.S. goods and services and strengthening U.S.-PRC relations would ease the way toward economic freedom for the mainland’s more than 1 billion people.

After hearing the good news from Beijing that in Taiwan national day, the Taiwan spirit --- featuring creativity, courage and tolerance will continually guide the citizenry in pursuing economic prosperity and democratic freedom --- said President Chen.

No matter if we are called “Taiwanese”, “Chinese” or ”global citizens”, we will not confine our vision of the future nor forget where we stand --- Chen added.

How to accurately present the ROC to the world, despite the international media was frequently demanded to provide a fair image of the ROC, some nations ignore the ROC’s contribution to democracy freedom, and human rights under Beijing’s pressure.

Beijing ignored Taipei’s latest plea for talks without conditions, restating its demand that rival Taiwan accept mainland China’s “one-China” principle.

“The one-China principle is the basis for stability and development of cross-strait relations,” Xinhua news agency quoted Zhang Mingqing, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office, as saying.

In remarks Xinhua said were a reply to President Chen Shui-bian’s call to set aside disputes and resume dialogue, Zhang urged Taipei to “take concrete measures to improve ties”.

He called on Chen to “comply with the people’s desire (for better relations) and face up to the reality instead of avoiding it,” Xinhua said.

Chen said in a national day speech that he wanted to pursue long-lasting peace with

Chen, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), called on mainland China’s Communist leaders to seek a “win-win situation” by resuming talks without pre-conditions.

“The Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman called on Chen to return to a 1992 consensus reached by the two sides in which they agreed to uphold the one-China principle. But Taipei and Beijing dispute the content of that accord, with Taipei saying both sides retained their own definition of “one China” and Beijing saying the term could only mean the Communist-ruled People’s Republic of China.

Taiwan government urge mainland China to take steps that foster dialogue, reduce tensions, and promote mutual understanding.

Contrary to President Chen’s well attitude toward China that Beijing threat again, the fact is that national consensus has long been there, the vast majority of Taiwan’s people want to preserve the status quo, wanting neither unification nor independence.

We don’t know what reasons for Beijing to say that for the first time since mid-March before Chen won his election, renewed its threat of invasion if Taiwan move towards independence from China or indefinitely put off talks for unification.

To speak clearly; the bans on both sides to negotiation was limited by Beijing not for Taiwan side, everyone know that Taiwan want to talk with China on equal footing in which no pre-condition over issues of sovereignty.

Only Taiwan’s democracy could possibly overwhelm Beijing nationalism by way of military power’s balance on Taiwan’s military system.

In short; please beware of Chinese’s anti-foreign emotion complex that relating history of empire’s invasion from outside world.