With best wishes for your honor of justice over international issues. So, we express our viewpoints that relating to Taiwan’s condition. The report from E.U. that … EU-China trade grew by over a third last year reaching 95 billion euros, and has kept expanding this year. With China offering such vast opportunities to European companies, the EU is wary of upsetting Chinese sensibilities with a confrontation over human rights. Human rights are being
pushed off the agenda. China has a huge record of human rights abuse and
that is being overlooked,” says Patricia McKenna, an Irish member of the
European Parliament. “The idea of isolating China or being extremely strong with China would be more effective,” added McKenna, a Green Party legislator who vocally opposed Zhu’s trip to Ireland. We want to say that Beijing’s deal only for politics. Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) has found itself caught in the middle of cross-strait bickering after inviting Taiwan officials to Europe. China's top securities regulator accused CSFB of "political misconduct" for sponsoring an investment tour of Europe that included Taiwan government officials. In Taiwan, Minister of Finance Yen Ching-chang lashed out at China, which punished the Swiss-owned bank by ejecting it from a US$10 billion share sale. CSFB, responding to China's tongue-lashing, said top executives will work hard to mend fences with Beijing. The lesson: Foreign banks aiming to help Chinese companies sell US$35 billion of shares during the next two years must keep Chinese politics in mind when doing business across the Taiwan Strait. "The only people who will buck the trend are those who have nothing to lose and can afford to take the moral high ground," said Alan Thompson, an executive at Stern Stewart Pte, a Singapore risk-management consultant. "It's unlikely there will be many." From Taiwan's point of view, the July trip aimed to introduce investors to the likes of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and United Microelectronics Corp. Many of these firms have already sold shares overseas through foreign banks. To policymakers in Beijing, CSFB's decision to include the finance minister and the stock exchange chief gave tacit support to Taiwan's independence. As a punishment, CSFB lost a role in a planned share sale by China Unicom Ltd, China's second-largest phone company. "We must show some dissatisfaction" to banks that support Taiwan, Zhou Xiaochuan, head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, told the Financial Times. However, Yen reiterated the government's stance, saying that it is impossible to even consider talks with China until Beijing gives up its insistence that Taiwan first agree that there is only one China. "Taiwan regrets China's attitude toward CSFB for holding the roadshow, in which we were simply trying to provide first-hand information to investors," Yen said. "China is combining everything with the so-called `one China' issue." How to terminate democratic
Taiwan was Beijing’s mandate of Chinese government? Chief of the General Staff General Tang Yao-ming Sept. 3, 2001 warned that China is trying to undermine Taiwan's government politically and economically, while urging the nation to keep its defensive forces in peak condition. "The Chinese tactic of using Taiwan businessmen and civilians to influence the Taiwan government is aimed at suppressing our economic development and competitive power," Tang said. "It just part of the proof that shows China has never changed its intention to destroy Taiwan," he added. Tang made the warning on national Armed Forces Day, as he delivered a speech at a ceremony honoring a group of servicemen selected annually as model members of the armed forces. Commenting on economic and political matters is unusual for Tang, who normally restricts his speeches to the military arena. Tang's warning was interpreted by local media as a message to the government leadership that the easing of restrictions upon business investment in China -- one of the conclusions reached at the recently concluded Economic Development Advisory Conference -- would be counterproductive to interests of national security. Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Huang Shui-sheng said the media had misconstrued General Tang's intentions in delivering his speech. "General Tang is just trying to let the public know what kind of tactics China now uses against Taiwan. He did it for the sake of national security," Huang told the Taipei Times. "The military will not rail against government policy. If the government decides to open direct sea and air links with China, the military will cooperate fully," Huang said. Andrew Yang, a military analyst at National Sun Yat-sen University, said General Tang's warnings against China represent a continuation of his efforts to make servicemen understand that China is an enemy to Taiwan. "General Tang has been making similar efforts over the past few months. He wants servicemen to know what they are fighting for and who their enemy is," Yang said. The general also reminded his audience of the nature of the military threat that Taiwan is facing from China. "It is estimated that by 2005, China will pose a substantial threat to Taiwan in areas ranging from air and sea forces to intercontinental ballistic missiles. It will also be a big threat to the security of the Asian-Pacific region," Tang said. "Currently, China is holding a series of military exercises off Fujian Province. These exercises are meant to intimidate the Taiwan people." "Since 1989, China has been increasing its defense spending by double digits each year to promote its military modernization project," he said. The general also called on the public not to relax vigilance against potential invasion from China. "We should not hold the illusion that war won't break out across the Taiwan Strait before 2008 just because China is to hold the Olympic Games that year," he said. "We should instead strengthen our military training and upgrade our combat readiness. We must strive to maintain our defensive capabilities," he added. In our viewpoint that support from the military was a key stabilizing factor in Taiwan's first peaceful transition of political power last year. Taiwan's armed forces have won kudos both at home and abroad for the respect they have demonstrated for democracy and the Constitution. The military has evolved from being an army of the Chiang family and the KMT, but it still has some way to go to completely modernize. Many people still fear political interference by the armed forces -- while some of the top brass are apparently confused about where their loyalties lie. Their morale goes up and down along with fluctuations in the political scene. Sept. 3, 2001 was Armed Forces Day and to celebrate President Chen Shui-bian invited a number of retired and serving high-level officers to a banquet last week. Some of the retirees staged a quiet protest in the banquet hall by putting up posters reading "Who to fight for? What to fight for?" Meanwhile, other retirees attended
a banquet hosted by KMT Chairman Lien Chan a few days earlier, where some
former generals lashed out at former president Lee Teng-hui for supporting
the Taiwan Solidarity Union. These are people who have A majority of officers who retired over the past 10 years appear to be suffering from a confused value system. They did not see any real fighting during their careers. They were indoctrinated with the authoritarian ideals of "leader, principles, nation, honor." But now there is no longer any holy leader to worship or any eternal "ism" to follow. Many who came from China in their youth harbor a nostalgia for what they were supposed to view as a "bandit area." When they have a chance to visit China, they are not sure whether it's their "motherland" or an "enemy camp." In the KMT era, officers made sure to steer clear of politics after Sun Li-jen was accused in 1955 of plotting a coup against Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. It was a time of "don't think, just do." Soldiers only needed to shout slogans given to them by political warfare department cadres, although many took such dogmata as their religion. Two former chiefs of the General Staff, Hau Pei-tsun and Tang Fei, made the transition from general to premier -- but both stepped down under unhappy circumstances and are viewed as unsuccessful examples of military involvement in politics. The military needs to understand democratic politics and develop a vision for safeguarding Taiwan's democracy, its economy and the interests of its 23 million people. Taiwan is now in the process
of normalizing trade relations with China by easing the "no haste, be
patient" policy and planning direct links with China. However,
Beijing still has 350 missiles aimed at Taiwan and has not renounced the
use of After retiring from their military careers, many officers find it hard to adapt to a pluralistic society. They should avoid political disputes and enjoy the latter part of their lives instead of embarrassing themselves by slandering the president and running off to visit China. Such behavior ruins the honor they earned in their careers, humiliates the armed forces they used to serve in and creates a negative impression upon the rest of society. Let us introduce President Lee Teng-hui to you. We care about Lee’s spirit on democratic Taiwan that needs your support always. When a sense of mission meets historical positioning, it's not that former president Lee Teng-hui doesn't care about historical positioning, it's just that he firmly believes that the sense of mission that is still with him is exactly a true mainstream value for historical foundation-building. In this way, while most people feel that this is not really necessary for him, Lee Teng-hui has chosen once again to don his battle gear, and his spirit is indomitable in the face of an opposition of overwhelming numbers, to which not even "bushido" can be compared, he's the kind of unconventional mind that "defies the drifting clouds that try to cover his eyes, because he knows his destiny lies at the highest level." But when it comes down to it, what kind of sense of mission could make Lee Teng-hui leap up to defend democracy in Taiwan yet be indifferent to the praise or censure of others? In his most recent interview with the media, he made his ambitions clear with a line of poetry referring to the free wanderings of Zhuangzi. From the meaning of this poem, we can see that Lee describes his frame of mind as free and unfettered, but Lee's freedom is not the same as Zhuangzi's. Lee Teng-hui wants to use his life to the very last breath amid the beacon fires of politics, not giving a damn what other people think. People who don't understand him will be surprised and question him about the advantages and disadvantages of reputation, but they don't know that he has a naturally sunny disposition, and has long been immersed in inner peace. Consequently, despite commentary from the outside world, his recent words and deeds would probably destroy the historical positioning he went to such pains to establish, but Lee says that this is too selfish a way to think, and if the country cannot get past the juncture of the moment, how can one talk about one's positioning? What Lee says is truly what is in his heart, and as far as he is concerned, the things he is now doing are not for his own personal honor or disgrace. In his book, "The Road to Democracy," Lee Teng-hui wrote: "The future leaders of Taiwan must truly love Taiwan, and be the kind of people who wouldn't hesitate to put their lives of the line to fight for Taiwan." Is this his sense of mission? And can it help us to further understand why Lee Teng-hui is still fighting at his old post on the front line for democracy in Taiwan after stepping down from the presidency. Apart from giving an impetus to the democratization of Taiwan, and completing a peaceful transfer of power, Lee Teng-hui's most important contributions to Taiwan have been to rebuild the confidence of the Taiwanese people, successfully market the Taiwan experience, and internationalize the Taiwan issue. 1996, Lee Teng-hui became the first president of Taiwan to be democratically elected, and the international media gave him the name of "Taiwan's Mr. Democracy." In completing a peaceful hand over of government, Lee Teng-hui hoped to formally hand over his experience, and he was willing to impart some of this experience to President Chen Shui-bian, and so he has maintained consistently good relations with Chen, and has been happy to play the role of "religious Lee Teng-hui", and after standing down as president, he has frequently attended church services as a lay preacher and been particularly concerned with the living problems of Aboriginal people. But over a year later, the KMT led by Lien Chan has done no soul-searching, and is even more biased towards moving away from Taiwan "nativization," and it's very clear that Lee is extremely disappointed by this. He had carefully announced the "special state-to-state relationship", and the KMT have cast this off like so a pair of worn-out shoes, and have even used it to call Chen's government into question. A KMT like this is clearly not the KMT which Lee Teng-hui used to promote the reform and development of Taiwan. Last year's presidential election revealed a crushing defeat for Lien Chan's KMT, and at the time, Lee's reaction to Lien telling him "you should resign, the sooner the better" was one of bitter disappointment. Relations between Lee and Lien suffered a crucial rupture when Lien Chan decided to call off further investigation into the Chung Hsing Bills scandal. In the past year, Lee's actions have demonstrated his gradual distancing from the KMT. For instance, when Lien Chan was elected as chairman of the KMT, Lee chose to be off playing golf instead, rather than cast a vote himself. In mid-June this year, Lee and Chen Shui-bian attended the inaugural meeting of the Northern Taiwan Society, and joined hands to cry "keep going, Taiwan!" and Lee became the "spiritual leader" of the Taiwan Solidarity Union, further drawing a line between himself and the KMT. As for the extraordinarily cold behavior of the KMT and its chairman, Lien Chan, the poor showing of party members seeing Lee off on his trip to Cornell University in June, and greeting him on his return, is even less worthy of mention. But Lee Teng-hui still believes he has mileage in him yet. He supports the Taiwan Solidarity Union not only for the small-scaled matter of winning a few seats; the subject closest to his heart is still democracy in Taiwan after the transfer of power, and whether or not it can operate soundly, so to the candidates whose political appeal lies in the stability of the political situation, his attitude is one of encouragement. Such an attitude has attracted new hatred on top of the old, from people including Liang Su-jung, Lee Huan, Konsin Shah, Hung Hsiu-chu and many ex-servicemen leaders, who have been calling in droves for Lee's expulsion from the KMT. Lee Teng-hui incessantly repeats his belief that the so-called Lien-Soong alliance is nothing but political tactics, and has no ideals or arguments. Lee thinks that obviously there can be cooperation between political parties, but that it cannot be made through nothing more than a decision of a few individuals, and he has warned that it will be the KMT that gets hurt. Recently, Lee was at the Grand Hotel to meet the chairman of the US House International Relations Committee, Henry Hyde. After their meeting, Hyde recounted the contents of his conversation with Lee, and said that Lee hoped to make contributions to democracy in Taiwan, and also thinks that "ideas are more important than political parties." Lee Teng-hui's relationship with the KMT goes back 30 years, a period which has been an important part of Taiwan's recent history. In 1971, when Lee joined the KMT, he was of the opinion that "the most dangerous place to be is also the safest." Later on, Lee was to give a more complete explanation to Japanese writer Fuyuko Kamisaka, saying: the main reason was that at that time, if you didn't join the KMT, then you were powerless to do anything, and he was a man who "wanted to achieve great things." Chiang Ching-kuo died in January 1988, and Lee Teng-hui succeeded him as president, as stipulated by the Constitution, and also inherited the chairmanship of the party, but his road to power was quite amazing. In under 12 years as president he successfully promoted the democratization of Taiwan. When Lee Teng-hui visited Cornell University in the U.S., in June this year, he attended an evening church service in Los Angeles, where he gave a reading from Chapter 15 of the Book of Joshua from the Old Testament which tells the story of Caleb. He then said "Caleb was 85 years old, and I am only 80," showing that he knows his trusty knife is not yet old, and that he still has strong contributions to make to Taiwan." In May this year, when Lee met
with scholars from the Central Taiwan Society and the Southern Taiwan
Society, he was asked about whether he would continue to promote the
"special state-to-state theory." He said that he felt
that at this stage, Taiwan should gather together more talented people to
research and understand the U.S.'s new strategies, especially important is
Taiwan's international position, how to bring Taiwan out into the
international community and find a place for it there. After Lee Teng-hui
stepped down as president, his itinerary has included the Czech Republic
and the UK, a visit to Japan to seek medical treatment, and a second visit
to Cornell. On all of these trips he has put the
"state-to-state theory" into practice Though famous for his iron will, Lee Teng-hui recently wept in public on two occasions. The first occasion was on reading the passages about his beloved son, Lee Hsien-wen, in Kamisaka's book; the second was at the end of June during his trip to Cornell, at the banquet given in his honor by overseas Taiwanese in Los Angeles, when the entire room sang "Formosa, Our Dream," and he couldn't keep his tears back. Lee's love for Taiwan shows. Lee Teng-hui lived through the 228 Incident, and the White Terror, and he has a very good understanding of the tragedies of the people of Taiwan, but when he speaks of Chiang Ching-kuo, Lee expresses gratitude, and does not scruple to say that he attended the "Chiang Ching-kuo School." After taking up the post of Vice President, he recorded every conversation he had with Chiang, and recently, Lee has handed these recordings over to his secretary and plans to find the time to edit them. Soon, perhaps, this record of the "Chiang Ching-kuo School" will be made public. Since he stepped down as president, many books about him have been published, including Kamisaka's "The President in the Tiger's Mouth," "An Account of Lee Teng-hui in Power" and "Lee Teng-hui in close up: Notes from a life in the mangrove forest." But Lee has always passed lightly over the period of the 228 Incident and the White Terror, and it's still very difficult to get a glimpse of the whole picture of Taiwanese politics and society at that time. During a recent media interview, however, Lee expressed a wish to write about his memoirs, and perhaps then the people of Taiwan will get to see 100 percent of Lee Teng-hui. In our viewpoints, many
Taiwan mainlanders with pro-Beijing parties have decayed Taiwan democratic
system and selling Lee’s spirit out of nothing. We thought that United States do support Taiwanese people to face the Beijing’s threat is the most importance in urgency.
Yours Sincerely,
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