Dear
Mr. Thomas Daschle, Reporter on Aug. 11, 2001 said
that … ˙Beijing launched
a covert operation in 1996 to gain access to US politicians through
political donations. ˙According to the
Senate report, the plan was sparked in 1995, when the Clinton
administration granted an entry visa to then Taiwanese president Lee
Teng-hui. ˙China has strongly denied the
allegations. The
Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based pressure group, on Aug.
11, 2001 condemned tougher Chinese media rules that make it easier to
close down publications carrying adverse reporting. The committee said in a press
release it was “disturbed” by a recent Chinese announcement placing
seven subject areas out of bounds and threatening media outlets with
closure if they do not comply. “The Chinese government has
consistently prevented the country’s journalists from reporting freely
on issues of national importance,” Ann Cooper, the committee’s
executive director, said in the statement. “This harsh new directive makes
matters worse.” The state press and publications
administration has published a list of content that will not be tolerated,
including reporting that goes against the policies of the communist party,
Chinese reports said this week. Other items on the list include
media content that spreads rumors, interferes in the work of the party and
the state, or violates party rules on propaganda, the reports said. The press administration also said
it planned a consolidation drive in the second half of this year that
could lead to the closure of some “low-quality, small-circulation”
publications. It warned that provinces where
more than two publication s are closed because of infringements within one
year will not be allowed to launch any new publications the following
year. The government has since January
been tightening its controls of local media that have become increasingly
bold and market-oriented in recent years. Observers believe the increased
official sensitivity to the media could be linked to preparations for next
year’s leadership succession, when several leaders including President
Jiang Zemin conclude their terms. Officials jockeying for new
positions are worried that their chances of promotion will be harmed by
critical reports in the local media, according to the observers. An editor at a southeastern
Chinese daily was reported sacked in July after reporting on the illegal
harvesting of body parts from an executed criminal. The month before, an editor at a
popular newspaper in central China was dismissed and another publicly
criticized after the paper published two reports on corruption. Many stories told something
for business deals in communist China … Gray puddles fill the ruts along a
cinder-paved alley leading to the Lianjiao Metal Processing Factory. The
scene is typical of urban China's industrial districts; in Nanhai, a small
city in booming, rough-and-tumble Guangdong province, scores of factories
cluster together, their front yards choked with piles of twisted metal,
junked plastic and old computer parts. But the killers who struck in the
predawn hours of July 16 knew exactly which path would take them to their
targets: Hou Kuo-li and Yeh Ming-yi, a pair of middle-aged businessmen
from Taiwan who lived in the Lianjiao plant. Their bodies were discovered
later that morning, along with those of two Chinese security guards and a
17-year-old female employee. According to news reports, all had their
throats slit. A watchman at a nearby plant recalls that the usually
attentive guard dogs on the premises had not made a sound. Word of the killings spread
quickly through Nanhai's small Taiwanese business community. The following
day, Taiwanese managers of neighboring plants didn't show up for work.
Many cleared out of town to lie low for a few days. Those who stayed
behind spoke tensely. "We're here to do business," said Liao Mu-san,
who like Hou and Yeh deals in scrap metals. "It's every man for
himself." Liao's talking about safety, not
business. There are some 300,000 Taiwanese on the mainland, many running
factories, and they are learning that China is a dangerous place—for
them in particular. Since Beijing regards Taiwan as a
renegade province, Taiwanese have about the same standing as stateless
people. Says Taipei's Deng Chen-chung, vice chairman of the Mainland
Affairs Council: "We have to admit that there's little we can do for
our Taiwanese businessmen in China." Taipei's powerlessness and
Beijing's cold shoulder mean that businesspeople are "on their own,
like orphans," according to Isao Chen, chairman of the Macau-Taiwan
Merchants' Association. But the money's good, and that
puts them at particular risk. In small towns and cities like Nanhai, the
wealth of Taiwanese businesspeople makes them the object of workers' envy
and criminals' greed; they are particularly vulnerable to triads,
organized crime syndicates that specialize in extortion, kidnapping and
murder. Chinese authorities say they are
dealing with the triad menace. Last month, police in Guangdong, Hong Kong
and Macau conducted a week-long crackdown on gangs that resulted in more
than 1,000 arrests; some 35,000 police took part in Guangdong alone. But
many believe the crack-down was mainly cosmetic and will leave the
criminal gangs largely unharmed. In Dongguan, another Guangdong
industrial hub, there are more than 50,000 Taiwanese, and things there are
pretty hairy. Mainland police confirm that eight of the 14 murders of
Taiwanese on the mainland last year took place in Dongguan. But Hayes Lou,
secretary-general of the Dongguan Taiwanese Businessmen's Association,
estimates that 30 to 40 Taiwanese die in the city each year, including
accident victims. What’s the next step to
achieve Beijing’s purposes in politics and economic means. Ting, who is soon to become the
National Security Council's secretary-general, said the opening of three
direct links with China will surely affect the security of the country if
it was a large-scale opening. "Our observation is
that Beijing is now seeking to achieve its political purposes through
economic means. As we open direct links with China, we must make sure that
we have clear and definite rules to manage these links," Ting said on
Aug. 12, 2001. "Beijing has adjusted its
strategy toward Taiwan. It used to focus its efforts on intimidating
Taiwan with military force and squeezing Taiwan's space in the
international community. It now intends to exert influence over Taiwan
through economic means," he said. Ting said that capital management
in Taiwan's business sector may also be affected. "China's threat to Taiwan
in the future will be concentrated on the high-tech industry and finance
sector. The Chinese leadership thinks that a next wave of investment by
Taiwan businessmen in China will be mainly from the finance, information
and service sectors after both Taiwan and China enter the WTO," Ting
said. China has adopted six principles
to guide its new strategy, including enlarging investment from Taiwan and
encouraging Taiwanese investors to set up research centers in China.
Additionally, Beijing plans to attract Taiwan's middle managers and senior
technicians to work in China; strengthen Shanghai as an international
finance center, challenge Taiwan's "no haste, be patient" policy
on investment in China and take advantage of WTO entry to explore and
occupy Taiwan's markets. Su Chi, former chairman of the
Mainland Affairs Council, yesterday declined to comment on "one
country, four areas" before more detail about the formula is
revealed. Pundits yesterday said they saw no
significant changes in Beijing's "one country, four areas" plan
from its "one country, two systems" formula. Lin Wen-cheng, professor of the
Institute of Mainland China Studies at National Sun Yat-sen University,
told the Taipei Times that he agreed. "There were already more than
two systems existing in China [before Beijing formulated `one county, two
systems'], including Hong Kong, Macao and special districts in the
mainland like Shenzhen," Lin said. "No matter how many
systems or areas, the mainland has always considered Taiwan to be a local
government or a special district, under which Taiwan's sovereignty didn't
exist," Lin added. Beijing’s six guidelines are working well that plot would complete by … Six
guidelines for new unification formula: A. Enlarge the amount of
investment from Taiwan toward the mainland. The “silent public” is fed up
with selfish politicians who have focused more on creating political
turmoil than solving the nation’s problems, former president Lee
Teng-hui said on Aug. 12, 2001. Lee was speaking at the founding
ceremony of the founding ceremony of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU),
which claims him as its spiritual leader. The former president Lee
encouraged the new political party to continue along the path of
“localization” – an ideology he made popular during his 12 years as
KMT president – and bring reform to the legislature. “Solidarity is now the most
important goal for all Taiwanese,” Lee said. “The foundation of the
TSU marks the awareness of the ‘silent public’ who are fed up with the
political parties.” Lee, the former chairman of the
KMT, said that “localization” meant having love and respect for the
land of Taiwan. “The past 400 years of history
in Taiwan is a record of our ancestors who emigrated across the Strait,”
Lee said. “The land of Taiwan is the
mother of us all.” The former president sad
that the public is growing more apathetic – a result of the bickering
that has characterized the nation’s politics. “The party politics
prevailing on the island have deviated from the sound development of
democracy and have damaged the island’s economy,” Lee said, speaking
in Hokkien. “I believe that the TSU will
become a major power in reforming both party politics and the
legislature.” Though he officially remains a
member of the KMT, Lee has been closely involved in the organization of
the new party, which plans to back the DPP after the year-end legislative
elections. For above reasons, that
protect democracy in Taiwan is very difficult. The recent spate of arrests in
China of US-trained Chinese scholars on charges of spying for Taiwan is
gradually drawing to a close following China's successful bid for the 2008
Olympic Games and President George W. Bush's promise to visit Beijing. Among those arrested, Li Shaomin
and Gao Zhan benefited from US intervention and were allowed to return to
the US. Both denied being spies for Taiwan, while Taipei denied having
engaged them as spies. Gao revealed that Chinese officials had claimed
that a pro-unification organization in Taiwan with which Gao had contact
was a spy organization. But the inability of the Chinese authorities to
provide evidence that the scholars are spies for Taiwan shows that this is
a case of the scholars being used as "hostages" who can serve as
bargaining chips in negotiations with the US. China's deceptive behavior on the
international stage isn't limited to these two cases. For example, by
signing parts of the International Bill of Human Rights three years ago,
China won praise from the international community, but from day one never
had any intention of carrying out its obligations. Instead, they continued
to round up dissidents en masse. China's smuggling of missiles and
nuclear weapons technology to rogue states is also frequently discovered
by the US. When denial becomes no longer possible,China is forced to admit fault,
but later continues to act in the same vein. The pity is that certain
politicians in the US don't clearly see China's rogue nature, and they
relate to China as though it were a normal country. For this reason, they
don't learn from these experiences and often get cheated. In our viewpoints, by not
forgetting past events, you can take them as guides in future events. Face Beijing effects that
“believed only half of what you see and nothing that you hear.” We thought one thing that deeds are fruits, words are but leaves. Taiwan needs your support.
Yours Sincerely,
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