Dear Mr. Trent Lott,  
        Mr. Dennis Hastert,  
        Mr. Thomas Daschle,

A group of members of the Falun Gong, the spiritual movement outlawed in China as a cult, kicked off a 400km walk across Taiwan on Sept. 11, 2001, calling for the release of the movement’s adherents jailed in China.

Falun Gong says that more than 50,000 practitioners in China have been sent to prisons, labor camps and mental hospitals since Beijing banned the group as a cult in 1999.

Human rights groups estimate some 200 Falun Gong adherents have died from torture during detention.

Beijing says that the group is trying to overthrow the Communist Party and has caused the death of at least 1,800 people either by suicide or refusal of medical treatment.

Falun Gong mixes traditional Chinese breathing exercises with Taoist and Buddhist elements of meditation and philosophy.

Its practitioners extol its powers of healing both physical and emotional ailments.

Beijing outlawed Falun Gong in 1999 after thousands of members laid siege to the Zhongnanhai leadership compound to demand official recognition.

Communist China must do something for “human rights,” …

Beijing authority only can “wait and see” that US’ anti-terrorists could work or not, United States should learn lessons from China.

Seeing China as a panacea for Taiwan's economic slowdown, local firms are rushing across the Taiwan Strait in search of a new market, as well as cheap labor and land.

These firms are drawing rising condemnation from politicians who fear China will use them as pawns to further its unification plans.

"Everyone is mistaken in thinking that China is our only future," said former president Lee Teng-hui at a campaign rally over the weekend. Lee, a political juggernaut in Taiwan, then issued a strong warning to businesses that do go.

"The communists will first steal your money and then start to exploit you," he said.

He also debunked the mythical China market. China's consumer market is currently worth only about US$200 billion. By contrast, the US market equals US$1.2 trillion. Taiwanese firms should concentrate their efforts on real markets, not illusory ones, he said.

Lee also called on high-tech firms to think about national security before leaping to China.

From John J. TKACIK, JR. said in the Heritage Foundation …

On October 18, all but one of the leaders of the Asia-Pacific region's top economies will meet in Shanghai, China, for the annual "CEO Summit" of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. The missing chief executive at the Chinese-hosted event will be Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian. Given the importance of Taiwan to both the national security and economic interests of the United States, on July 24, Representative Gary Ackerman (D-NY) submitted House Resolution 194 "expressing the sense of Congress to encourage full participation" in the APEC forum by President Chen.

President Chen's absence from the summit will not be by choice. As early as May, in dialogue with several U.S. Members of Congress, he expressed his desire to attend the APEC leaders meeting and his hopes that it could be a vehicle to initiate talks with China. In fact, President Chen has made a year-long effort with repeated pleas to China to begin talks--without precondition--that "could discuss anything" including the "prospects for eventual unification." However, China has barred Chen's attendance at the summit. Hardliners in Beijing insist that Taiwan be brought under China's rule and that all talks be "conditioned" on Taiwan's acceptance that it is part of the People's Republic.

By denying Mr. Chen a chance to attend the APEC summit, China is missing an historic opportunity to begin substantive dialogue with its neighbor across the Taiwan Strait. The forum could begin a process of defusing a half-century of pent-up tension in one of the world's most dangerous flash points. The Ackerman Resolution could provide a crucial push to break the stalemate between China and Taiwan, promoting "direct dialogue, without precondition, between leaders on both sides of the Taiwan Strait." The resolution, which will be voted on early this September, acknowledges that President Chen's attendance at the summit would be "a constructive step" and an ideal starting point for a peaceful dialogue between China and Taiwan--a key objective of America's China policy in the Administrations of both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Taiwan is a full member of APEC. Like China, Taiwan is a full member of APEC, an avowedly economic--not political--organization. Taiwan's leaders are entitled to be present at the summit. There is no regulation or memorandum barring Taiwan's democratically elected leader from attending. In fact, in 1991, APEC members committed themselves to "conducting their activities and work programs on the basis of open dialogue with equal respect for the views of all participants."

Taiwan is economically significant. As H Con. Res 194 recognizes, Taiwan possesses the seventh largest trading economy and ninth largest gross domestic product in the APEC consortium, contributing significantly to economic stability and commercial expansion throughout the region. The United States has correctly refrained from prodding Taiwan to negotiate with China, but it does have economic, moral, and legal interests in Taiwan that successive U.S. administrations have vowed to defend. Taiwan was America's fifth largest export market in 2000, importing $24 billion in American goods (half again as much as the US$16 billion that China imported from the U.S. last year). Taiwan also is the United States' single largest foreign source of computers and semiconductors.

Taiwan plays an important role in regional stability. Taiwan has become Asia's most vibrant and dynamic democracy. Given that encouragement (indeed, pressure) from the United States played a role in this development, America's leaders have a moral commitment to support Taiwan, as well as a statutory obligation to, as President Bush put it, "help Taiwan defend itself," which the Taiwan Relations Act (22 USC 3301 and 3302) defines.

The United States' long-standing policy to preserve Taiwan's rights as a free agent in negotiating its relations with China was evidenced 20 years ago in President Ronald Reagan's pledge that the United States "will not prejudice the free choice of, or put pressure on, the people of Taiwan" in resolving their differences with China. The policy was reiterated by President Clinton, who on February 24, 2000, in response to China's threats of war, declared, "We'll continue to reject the use of force as a means to resolve the Taiwan question," and added that "We'll also continue to make absolutely clear that the issues between Beijing and Taiwan must be resolved peacefully and with the assent of the people of Taiwan." As recently as June 12, 2001, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly told a Senate hearing that "the first priority for the PRC and Taiwan ought to be the resumption of direct dialogue."

Both Congress and the Administration should encourage the Chinese leadership to invite Taiwan to participate in the APEC summit as the full member that it is, recognizing its right to have its "Chief Executive Officer," President Chen, represent it in Shanghai. H. Con. Res. 194 would signal that the American people and their representatives in Congress support a direct face-to-face dialogue without preconditions between Taipei and Beijing, and that such a dialogue is in accord with America's foreign policy goals.

In September, a representative of President Bush will visit Beijing to review the agenda for a forthcoming visit by the President. With the weight of a congressional resolution behind him, that envoy could present an authoritative demarche urging China's leadership to be open to the possibility of a direct dialogue--without precondition--with Taiwan's leader about their points of disagreement and encourage China's leaders to invite the democratically elected leader of the people of Taiwan to the Shanghai APEC summit.

China's response to the United States' recommendation that President Chen be invited as a full participant to the APEC summit will be an indication of whether China is truly interested in resolving its differences with Taiwan peacefully. Beijing's continued insistence on barring President Chen's attendance--despite his repeated requests for face-to-face talks--would be evidence that China may opt to use force to impose its will in the Taiwan Strait. This could be an early sign that the United States must prepare for a prolonged period of firmness with China if peace and stability in the Pacific are to be preserved.

When the US suffered unprecedented casualties in 911 terrorist attacks. Evidence is mounting that the attacks were prompted by conflict and hatred between different cultures and religions. Ideological conflict was a hallmark of the 20th century -- but the Taiwan Strait, the two Koreas and the Middle East remain internationally recognized flashpoints as we entered the 21st century. China has rapidly increased the number of its ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan from 200-plus to 350. This should be a cause of international concern.

At a recent international forum, Vice Premier Qian Qichen reiterated Beijing's "one China" mantra and called for dialogue and the speedy establishment of direct links. Qian said China could wait patiently for Taiwan as long as the latter accepts "one China."

Such rhetoric is so conditioned a reflex that it has become a laughable cliche -- despite the efforts of Beijing academics to claim that China has given up its duplicitous doubletalk. They say Qian's remarks were the first time he has told an international audience that "There is only one China in the world. The mainland and Taiwan belong to one China. China's sovereignty and territory are inalienable." Whether small changes in the audience for such a speech represent a real change in China's Taiwan policy is hard to determine.

It has been hard to perceive goodwill in Beijing's recent behavior. Some say Beijing's successful Olympic bid will ensure seven years of peace in the Strait. But Qian has vowed not to renounce the use of force against Taiwan and the sound of gunfire continues to roar on Dongshan island, the site of massive war games by the People's Liberation Army.

Xiong Guangkai, the PLA's deputy chief of staff, has also stressed that military force is a necessary deterrence against Taiwan independence and a means to prevent foreign interference. However, he could not explain why the pro-independence Chen Shui-bian won the presidency and yet independence is a minority platform in Taiwan. He was also unable to clarify what the so-called "foreign interference" would be. His inability to explain himself -- or Beijing's position -- showed the confusion in China's military thinking. It also shows that China still holds an almost superstitious belief in the efficacy of military solutions.

Peace remains a distant ideal. Some say China will become a model of economic globalization after its entry into the WTO. But economic freedom in China is still a long way off, given the way it punished Credit Suisse First Boston for helping Taiwan's finance minister hold investment roadshows in Europe.

Any talk from Beijing about having a consistent Taiwan policy will be of little benefit. Taiwan will have to both "listen to its words and observe its actions" -- judging Beijing's intentions by its actions. If Beijing truly wants to demonstrate its sincerity, the best way to do it would be to invite Chen to the APEC leaders' summit in Shanghai.

Only when President Jiang Zemin and Chen shake hands there, will both Taiwan and the international community be able to believe Beijing's rhetoric. That handshake will also dissolve many of the problems.

Both sides of the Strait should learn one of the lessons from Tuesday's terrorist atrocities: hatred should not be accumulated; grudges should not be increased. As long as China can extend a respectful, equitable attitude, Taiwan can patiently wait for the arrival of peace.

                                                                   Yours Sincerely,