Nov.14,2000 --- To: Trent Lott, Denny Hastert

[ Up ]

Taiwan Tati Cultural
And Educational Foundation
B16F, No.3 Ta-Tun 2nd St.
Taichung, Taiwan, ROC
Nov. 14, 2000.

 

Dear¡@Mr. Trent Lott,
¡@¡@¡@ Mr. Denny Hastert,

Nov. 13, 2000 ---

Pope John Paul said on Sunday that if humanity did not learn to reconcile technology with respect for nature, life on earth would become ever more dangerous.

The 80-year-old Pope made his comments in a mass for tens of thousands of agricultural workers from around the world which was attended by the directors of Rome-based U.N. food agencies.

The traditional problems of agricultural workers had clearly been aggravated by man¡¦s disrespect for nature, uncontrolled industrialization, atmospheric pollution and environmental disorders, he said.

¡§If the world of refined technology is not reconciled with the simple language of nature to reach a healthy equilibrium, the life of man will run ever greater risks, of which we already are seeing worrying signs,¡¨ he said.

The agricultural workers were in Rome to mark the Roman Catholic Church¡¦s Holy Year. The mass was attended by Jacques Diouf, director-general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Catherine Bertini, executive director of the World Food Program (WFP).

Speaking at a rally of agricultural workers on Saturday afternoon, the Pope said it was an intolerable scandal that millions of people were going hungry around the world and living in miserable conditions at the start of the third millennium.

He said the fight against hunger could not be limited to talk but needed more action.

¡§Today, all people have a right to live from the fruits of the earth. It is an intolerable scandal that at the start of the new millennium there are very many people who are still reduced to hunger and who live in conditions that are unworthy of man,¡¨ he said.

¡§We can no longer limit ourselves to academic reflection. We must erase this shame from humanity with appropriate political and economic choices on a planetary level,¡¨ he said.

The Pope attacked what he called the ¡§irrational consumerism¡¨ and ¡§culture of waste¡¨ that had taken hold in developed countries.

Nov. 13, 2000 ---

Despite the lingering foul weather in Taipei, nearly 20,000 anti-nuclear activists from all over the country yesterday gathered at Chang Kai-shek Memorial Hall for a peaceful rally, making sure the official cancellation for construction of the country¡¦s fourth nuclear power plan stays sealed.

With ¡§abdication of nuclear power for a better living environment¡¨ as the theme, the demonstration not only drew the enthusiastic support of residents from 176 local social groups around the island, but also the strong backing of some 20 anti-nuclear leagues from other countries, such as Japan, Korea, and Canada.

And to ensure their voices were heard, hundreds of residents from Taipei County¡¦s Kungliao township where the partially built fourth nuclear power plant is located, also arrived in the capital city Sunday on some twenty chartered buses to join the march.

Chao Kuo-tung, Kungliao township¡¦s chief, said firmly yesterday that, despite the Executive Yuan¡¦s recent announcement to discontinue building the nuclear power station in his home town, he and his fellow residents in the area would keep on with their fight against any future plans on resuming construction for the electricity-generating facility that runs on nuclear fuel.

Chao also pointed out that the perennial battle to oppose any nuclear-related infrastructure was, too, aimed at keeping the island free of any potential nuclear hazards or pollution for the future generations.

Feng Chiao-lan, secretary general of the Humanistic Education Foundation said to highlight the true spirit of the anti-nuclear rally, a group of mothers would lead the peaceful demonstration with their young children in prams.

And to get the anti-nuclear message out to everyone in every spectrum of the society, Feng pointed out yesterday¡¦s march also involved hundreds of teenagers, joining their parents and adult friends to champion for a non-nuclear environment.

Other than their demand for the permanent halt in completing construction of the fourth nuclear power plant, participants of yesterday¡¦s anti-nuke rally also urged lawmakers to immediately stop using the controversial project as an excuse to hamper the smooth running of the present legislative session.

Additionally, the demonstrators also called for an end to the campaign of recalling President Chen Shui-bian, who infuriated opposition lawmakers and led them to call for his dismissal when he decided to bypass the legislature for the abandonment of the controversial infrastructural project.

Meanwhile, aside from yesterday¡¦s rally in Taipei, residents who live in the southern part of the country and didn¡¦t make it to the march in the capital city yesterday held a peaceful anti-nuclear march in Kaohsiung to voice their support.

If built the nuclear power plant IV isn¡¦t the mainstream of people¡¦s wishes, why opposition unites on recall motion?

More than 140 lawmakers from the KMT, PFP and NP in the 219-seat Legislative Yuan, or parliament, have signed the motion, Lien told reporters after the meeting on November 11, 2000. ¡§It demonstrates strong public support,¡¨ Lien said, but nevertheless, everyone of politician in Taiwan has said the same word.

We doubted who get the real people¡¦s wishes. We thought that the dangerous situation on opposition unites would step into Taiwan chaos. We don¡¦t want to see that civil war could attack by recalling President Chen over legislature¡¦s violence.

In our opinion, KMT¡¦s action would be a reason of wanting to regain its lost government.

Nov. 12, 2000 ---

Taiwan¡¦s opposition party leaders are turning their back on popular opinion in their quest to get President Chen Shui-bian out of office, high ranking Democratic Progressive Party officials said after yesterday¡¦s meeting among opposition leaders.

DPP chairman Frank Hsieh called on the three men to take heed of the public mood and quit their attempt to dismiss the president.

Secretary General Wu Nai-jen said that his party respected suggestions and statements being made by the leaders of opposition parties.

But he also took them to task for misinterpreting a majority in the Legislative Yuan for a mandate from the people.

¡§All they (the three opposition heads) can see is the hundred some odd legislators who signed the petition calling for a dismissal vote, not the 60 percent of the voters, who oppose such a vote,¡¨ Wu said.

The outspoken Wu also said that he failed to see any alliances being forged during yesterday¡¦s meeting between opposition leaders.

Even though he didn¡¦t say it, People First Party chairman James Soong clearly did not agree with either the legitimacy or the timing of the push to dismiss the newly elected president, Wu claimed.

Wu also denied that the DPP was looking to increase divisions in the KMT by pandering to that party¡¦s second top man, vice-chairman Vincent Siew.

However, Wu did say that KMT leaders risked further splintering their party if they insisted on going ahead with the attempt to oust the president.

Elected representatives ultimately have to answer to the voters, Wu said.

With close to 70 percent of all voters opposing the dismissal motion, lawmakers will naturally have to do some political calculations before casting their vote, he added.

Nov. 13, 2000 ---

Anti-nuclear activists, often seen as a ¡§fringe group,¡¨ yesterday demonstrated their strength and unity during a mass protest across Taiwan in an uproar that represented a broad cross-section of the island¡¦s population.

Students, the elderly, nuns and priests, foreigners, parents pushing babies in strollers, people in wheelchairs, and indigenous residents from Lanyu Island, where Taiwan¡¦s nuclear waste is sent for storage, were among those joining hands to send an apparent message of support to President Chen Shui-bian and his administration for halting the construction of the island¡¦s fourth nuclear power plant.

Thomas Shih, attending his first nuclear protest, said that he supported the decision to cancel the nuclear plant.

¡§We [the demonstrators] want to secure Taiwan for our children,¡¨ said Shih. ¡§We want to have a green silicon valley. That¡¦s our goal.¡¨

When asked how Taiwan might deal with its future energy needs, Shih said, ¡§There are a lot of resources we can use and nuclear energy is among the most dangerous, as nuclear waste is difficult to handle.¡¨

Sophia Lucy attending her fourth demonstration, said that, ¡§the issue is not just about now, but about the future.¡¨ She hoped the decision to stop the fourth nuclear power plant would stand up.

Her husband, Colin, from Scotland, was attending his first demonstration.

Not shy about his first protest experience in Taiwan, Colin said he was there to support his wife and, as a member of the foreign community, to protest the nuclear plant.

When asked how he would respond to those who thought foreigners should stay out of Taiwan¡¦s affairs, he said. ¡§The nuclear issue is a global issue. It¡¦s everyone¡¦s planet.¡¨ Students from the prestigious National Taiwan University were among other protesters in the March.

¡§I am very excited,¡¨ said Yi-chen, an NTU student who was attending her second protest. ¡§I finally have an opportunity to say what I want [about nuclear energy],¡¨ she said, adding that there were better alternatives to nuclear power.

Her friend and classmate, Yu-hsian, said she felt ¡§very proud¡¨ to be participating in her first protest. She said she believes their is a lot of bribery surrounding the nuclear plant and that the plant is not really needed. Michael Lee, also marching for the first time, said he opposed nuclear plants on the island ¡§because Taiwan is too small and could not withstand any nuclear accidents.¡¨

Frank Hsieh, chairman of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, which backs down on the construction of nuclear power plant, has suggested that the former Kuomintang government had tried to gain illicit profits from the controversial fourth nuclear power plant and that was why it staunchly supported continuation of the project. Hsieh¡¦s comment was sternly rejected by the KMT, which brought a libel suit against Hsieh.

The KMT has said it supports the construction of the plant because it believes their will not be enough power supply in the future, a view refuted by President Chen, who maintains that Taiwan will have adequate power supply in the future.

Bitter disputes over whether to continue to build the power plant, which was one-third completed, have plunged the nation into its worst political crisis with the opposition pushing for the dismissal of President Chen.

Because of what they did, and the way they did it, and how they unified and sacrificed in every way, and everyone did it together and understood that everyone was doing it.

This has been an overwhelming experience, in the past days of Taiwan democratic procedure.

Contrary to newly situation of Taiwan that if opposition unites respected the spirit of the ¡§Three Principles of the People¡¨, it need understand the background of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. At that time,

China was suffering one defeat after another in its clashes with western powers,

Believed national reconstruction was necessary to make China strong,

Anti-corruption and political systems¡¦ reform need revolution by people,

The Three Principles are a combination of western political theory and rule out traditional Chinese thinking in which rebuilding new style of oceanic thoughts in against old bureaucrats¡¦ system.

In short, the principles of people¡¦s livelihood, for example, advocates the restriction of private capital and equalization of land rights besides the development of industry and the implementation of free enterprise.

Who could threat ¡§Dr. Sun Yat-sen¡¨? Who let A-bian win the election? Who threat Taiwan?

Who mobilized demonstrators and protests from its own supporters, as a lawmakers how do you feel about this ¡§legislature¡¦s violence¡¨?

It remains unknown the results, if the act to recall the president will be passed or not. But, the major opposition should to concern about the chaos in the near future. If crisis was happened by irritable popular emotions.

For personal reason, our politicians have plunged the people here into uncertainty. So please stop all the verbal combat and go back to government-legislature¡¦s communication.

Nov. 10, 2000 ---

Vice President Annette Lu has made an emotional appeal to the public to support Chen Shui-bian¡¦s presidency as a petition drive to oust the leader shows no signs of abating.

The main opposition party, angered by a government decision to scrap a nuclear power plant project, is seeking to topple President Chen Shui-bian.

The government said last month it was halting construction of the plant, sparking the biggest political crisis for President Chen who took office in May in Taiwan¡¦s first ever democratic transfer of power. Vice President Lu made an emotional appeal on Wednesday night asking for public support, calling the opposition demand for new elections ridiculous and unfair.

¡§If the (recall) model works, the opposition coalition formed by those who lost the election will have the power to oust the president and vice president elected by five million people,¡¨ Lu told a group of Rotarians.

¡§If the recall motion is approved, a new election will be held. If some people are not satisfied, there will be another recall,¡¨ said Lu, who faces dismissal along with Chen.

¡§What do we need elections for?¡¨

Chen, whose popularity has been flagging, has been under fire over an anemic stock market and murky of poorly executed economic policies in his first few months in office.

The nuclear power plant had been a pet project of the Kuomintang, who ruled for 55 years until they were ousted by Chen in presidential elections in March.

New government needs your support.


Back Up Next