Dear Mr. Prime Minister John Howard,
　　 Mr. Kofi A. Annan,
　　 Mrs. Madeleine Korbel Albright,

Will the violence ever stop?

The ideal arrangement in East Timor would involve creating a United Nations peacekeeping force with Chinese participation and support, or at least without Beijing's opposition, even if China blocks the U.N. option, it would be proper and responsible for the United States and Australia to move forward jointly.

As these options are explored, it is worth remembering that it was the unyielding resistance of the Timorese that made this historic opportunity for freedom possible. They have also given others around the world who failed East Timor in the past a second chance to show what statesmanship can achieve.

With the same reason, we can say that China wants Taiwan to opt for reunification it should accelerate its own move toward political and economic democracy.

The fact is the island's 22 million citizens do not want to be reunited with the mainland as long as China remains a communist dictatorship. Communist China should have learned from the Vietnam War, that you cannot win the hearts and minds of a people by trying to bomb them into submission. The Soviets didn't --- and paid the price in Afghanistan, where the disastrous invasion accelerated the collapse of the Soviet Union.

We want Jiang's speaking is true:

BANKOK, Sep. 3 ---
Visiting mainland Chinese President Jiang Zemin said on Friday China and countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) wanted a new international order to counter the power politics of some big world powers.

The world situation had relaxed somewhat since the end of the Cold War and there had been increasing voices for global peace, stability and development, Jiang said in a speech in Bangkok on mainland China-Thai relations and the mainland's policy towards Southeast Asia.

"However, the world is far from being tranquil. Hegemonism and power politics still exist and have even developed in the international political, economic and security fields," he said.

"The new 'gunboat policy' and the economic neo-colonialism pursued by some big powers has severely undermined the sovereign independence and development interest of small and medium-sized countries and has threatened world peace and international security," Jiang said.

"China firmly opposes hegemonism and power politics and will never seek hegemony --- that is a solemn commitment that the Chinese government and the people have made to the whole world," he said. Hegemonism and power politics are Beijing's codewords for U.S. foreign policy.

"Both China and ASEAN countries are advocators for a new international order. Our consensus on strategic issues is increasing. Both China and ASEAN countries need to maintain food neighborliness and friendship with each other," he said. The Chinese leader stressed all countries needed to abide strictly by basic norms governing international relations to maintain world peace. "No country should be allowed to defy the laws, or willfully violate and trample on these norms. All the countries regardless of their strength are equal members of the international community," he said.

Touching on mainland China-ASEAN issues ties, Jiang said all disputed between them could be solved through "friendly consultation".

"China is ready to have indepth discussions with the relevant ASEAN countries on the principles and ways of safeguarding peace and stability in the region as well as in the South China Sea." He was referring to a dispute over the Spratly Islands, an archipelago in the South China Sea claimed by Beijing and several Southeast Asian states.

He said mainland China's modernization drive called for a long term peaceful international environment. "A developed China will pose no threat to any country," he said, "and it will only be conducive to regional and world peace and prosperity".

He said he was grateful to the Thai government and other ASEAN countries for their support of its "one China" policy over Taiwan and of peaceful reunification.

Beijing's threat Taiwan with force, but ruled out using nuclear weapons. Who is troublemaker?

Unimpressed with a Chinese pledge not to use nuclear weapons against Taiwan, officials here yesterday (Sep. 3, 1999) said Beijing must drop its threat to use force altogether and released a survey showing public antagonism toward China at an all-time high.

China needs to treat Taiwan as an equal and negotiate a resolution to the half-century-old feud between the rivals, said Sheu Ke-sheng, vice chairman of the Cabinet's Mainland Affairs Council.

"Dialogue, communication and negotiations (are needed) to resolve problems, not violence in any form to solve issues," Sheu told a news conference.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Henry Chen echoed that call, saying China should "get to the root of the issue and express clearly that they give up the threat of force against us."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi on Thursday told reporters that China ruled out using nuclear weapons against Taiwan --- the most explicit, public renunciation of the nuclear option China has even given Taiwan.

But Sun said China stood by a threat to use force to block formal independence by Taiwan.

China says that threat gives backbone to its goal of reunification. The prospect of armed conflict with Beijing is considered the most powerful argument for Taiwanese to support the status quo of de facto independence without pressing to make it official.

A survey commissioned by Sheu's council shows Taiwanese have grown cooler than ever in their attitudes toward China since the most recent round of tensions began in July.

The poll showed that 88 percent of Taiwanese believe China is hostile toward Taiwan's government and 66 percent believe China is hostile toward the people of Taiwan. Eighty-seven percent oppose the "one-country, two-systems" formula under which China has proposed to reunify with Taiwan.

Those figures were all time highs, a direct result of China's recent campaign of intimidation, Sheu said. The survey of 1,067 adults was conducted on August 27-31 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.

China's threats have become more vociferous since Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui provoked Chinese fury by characterizing relations between the sides as "state-to-state," which Beijing interpreted as move towards formal independence.

Beijing's saber-rattling has prompted expressions of concern from the United States, which has diplomatic relations only with Beijing but is bound by U.S. law to sell Taiwan defensive weapons and ensure that the sides resolve issues between them peacefully.

Despite China's threats to Taiwan at any time, the East Timor's independence need the U.N. and the international community do more ensure that the elections did not trigger the chaos and death that they have. Of course there exists a major obstacle to a peaceful referendum in East Timor and that is the Indonesian government.

We hope that in the future the U.N. and the international community will be more proactive in keeping the peace in such situations. It is urgently; do not give the Indonesian government the excuse they need to impose martial law over East Timor's bloodshed that following the result of peaceful referendum.