Dear Mr. President Jacques Chirac,
　　 Mr. Chancellor Gerhard Schr(der,
　　 Mr. Trent Lott,
　　 Mr. Denny Hastert,

A new U.S. missile defense system successfully destroyed an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile in the first major test of a program that threaten to rankle relations with Russia and China.

We expected to decide to deploy the system as soon as possible. That the United States military said early on Sunday (Oct. 3, 1999) it had successfully completed the first test of a prototype weapon that could lay the ground work for a national missile defense system.

Foreign Minister Jason Hu told the French Le Monde recently that while there was no harm in Beijing celebrating its national day, it benefits no one for the mainland Chinese government to agitate nationalist sentiment.

Hu made the remarks in response to the celebrations on the 50^th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in Beijing last Friday.

A Chinese translation of the interview yesterday published by the state-run Central New Agency (CNA) described Hu as emphasizing that Taipei is most concerned about peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Hu also sought to negate Taipei's "troublemaker" image in the international community.

"We have been labeled a 'troublemaker' of stirring up ill will (towards Beijing)," Hu said.

"Actually we ourselves have already experienced too much stress and trouble. Why would we be actively trying to increase it? If there was a clash across the Taiwan Strait, who would be most affected?"

Mainland Chinese Premier Zhu Rongi accused Washington of encouraging the development of Taiwan independence on the PRC's national day.

But Hu pointed out that Taipei cannot effectively influence the international community because all foreign polices revolved around Beijing. So all Taipei can do is wait for other forces to wrest free the island's sovereignty.

Hu admitted frankly: "The U.S. told us: Any attempts on our part to stop the PRC doing what it wants to do is both a useless and dangerous task."

"We replied, we approve of the U.S. 'engagement policy' with the PRC. But if we are adversely influenced as a result, we will strongly make our opinion know. The PRC tries to use every opportunity to destroy Taiwan but we will not let it threaten our own interests."

Hu admitted that Beijing was provoked when President Lee Teng-hui redefined cross-strait relations as a "special state-to-state relationship."

But he added that many government officials had said that Lee was only expressing a fact and "a fact that cannot be denied," Hu said.

"Since 1949 until the present, there has never been a day when the PRC government has exercised its sovereignty over Taiwan," Hu was quoted as saying.

Hu also mentioned that Taipei was upset that France had vocally opposed Taipei's latest U.N. bid.

"We are extremely disappointed about this," Hu said. "It was totally unnecessary and to no one's benefit at all. It has also damaged France's image in Taiwan. We deeply realize Beijing will try to fully capitalize on this and we are waiting for France to set the record straight.

TAIPEI, Oct. 3 ---
Most Taiwan people have been angered by mainland China's repeated assertion of sovereignty over the island while it was trying to recover from its strongest earthquake this century, a survey showed.

The survey of 1,137 residents was conducted jointly by The Journalist weekly and Global Television cable service on Thursday and Friday.

It said 73 percent of respondents were antagonistic towards Beijing's moves following the temblor on Sept. 21, which left more than 2,200 people dead and 100,000 people homeless.

On September 25, mainland China expressed willingness to ask for a UN-backed international rescue effort if Taiwan first requested Beijing do so, Xinhua news agency reported.

The offer, regarded as an insult by Taiwan, was turned down here.

Taipei was enraged when Beijing, while allegedly trying to delay foreign rescue missions, thanked the international community for the assistance extended to "Mainland China's Taiwan province" after the deadly quake.

Foreign Minster Jason Hu lashed out at communist China last week, accusing it of deliberately holding up rescue mission from reaching Taipei by refusing them permission to fly through Chinese airspace.

A large contingent of Russian disaster and survivor location specialists was delayed by 12 hours as it flew around mainland China via Siberia, eventually landing almost two says after the quake, Hu said.

The survey dashed hopes that the two arch-foes would mend fences, the way Turkey and Greece have been doing following killer earthquakes that struck the two countries recently.

The widely circulated mainland China Times Express said in a commentary Thursday that Taiwan had scrapped National Day celebrations on October 10 because of the quake, but Beijing had gone ahead with celebrations of 50 years of Communist Party rule.

"They (Beijing) did not show any gesture of concern ... although they did pay lip service expressing condolences over the disaster in 'mainland China's Taiwan Province'," it said.

"The gap between the two sides could have been filled in the wake of the quake .. It's a pity that Beijing did not act to win the hearts of the Taiwan people and instead created a new fault in the Taiwan Strait," it added.

China is also concerned about the extent of U.S. help to Taiwan, which is planning to beef up its low-altitude missile defense capability in Tandem with the U.S..

Taiwan is still suffering from power shortages resulting from last month's earthquake, just two months after an islandwide blackout led to huge economic losses.

We would not rule out that the power system would become a target, that most of Taiwan's high-tech manufacturing industries which depend on a stable power supply are concentrated in the northern parts of the islands.

In order to fix the situation there, we need a bold decision and a strategic picture. The U.S. administration's bid to block a bill obligating it to upgrade military ties with Taiwan is understandable.

The United Nations Charter clearly forbids the use of force, and the constitutions of many countries also renounce the use of force in dispute resolution. Peace has become a common value in the global community, widely advocated and accepted.

Peace, however, does not mean surrendering or giving in without defending one's position; it requires eliminating all armed threats among nations. Many countries thus seek peace agreements, try to achieve non-military solutions or refrain from deploying nuclear weapons. As many countries sign disarmament treaties and ban nuclear tests, the world is moving closer toward a peaceful environment.

Currently, mainland China is almost the only country that has not renounced the use of force. It is ironic that its position, which is in obvious violation of international law, can even exist without any international criticism. The Atlantic Charter of 1941 refereed to four major types of freedom: the freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and the freedoms from fear and want. These are the basic rights of every person. Yet the people of Taiwan have never been able to truly enjoy freedom from fear. In this day of active human rights advocacy, it is inexcusable that human rights are openly violated in the international community. Taiwan should argue this issue strongly and remind the world that mainland China is obstructing peace and violating human rights.

Taiwan should emphasize that peace in Taiwan is closely related to peace in East Asia. Unwilling to renounce the use of force, mainland China, not democratic Taiwan, is the troublemaker disrupting peace.