Taipei ---
Twenty years after the Formosa incident in Kaohsiung, when members
of the opposition clashed with military police, opposition leaders
said Saturday (Dec. 4, 1999) a government apology is much desired,
but forgiveness will also help to heal the wound, "reflecting
on ourselves is the beginning to a better understanding of history.
Forgiveness shows us the path to end pain," former Democratic
Progressive Party chairman Shih Ming-teh said at the opening
ceremonies for a series of events commemorating the December
10, 1979 Kaohsiung Incident. Shih, who was arrested during the
incident and imprisoned from 1980 to 1990, lamented that
"up to now, not only the rulers but also the suppressed
still avoid honestly facing up to the past."
When a mainlander lived in Taiwan, has eaten in
Taiwan and depend on Taiwanese people for about 50 years, why
not love Taiwan as a member of Taiwanese? A few of them only
want to be mainlanders, betraying Taiwan and selling out Taiwanese
people.
In my eye, mainlanders shouldn't exist in Taiwan,
because all Taiwanese people are mainlander also, but, on the
other hand, "New Taiwanese" included whole people
who lived in Taiwan, love Taiwan want to fight for Democratic
Taiwan.
Weinberger said he sees two factors that could create instability
and uncertainty in Taiwan (Dec. 3, 1999). "The first is
next March's presidential election," he pointed out. The
second is the threat from mainland China, which is "coupled
with the very real worry of whether our administration's support
remains firmly and decisively behind Taiwan, or it is tilting
toward the People's Republic of China," he said.
Former U.S. Defense Secretary and chairman of Forbes magazine
Caspar W. Weinberger said in recent article that
Washington should make it clear that it will not allow conditions
in Taiwan to be changed by force against the will of Taiwan's
people.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry confirmed reported on Nov. 18, it
was withdrawing regular troops from Taiping island, the biggest
islet in the Sprately island group, and the Pratas islands in
the South China Sea. The Spratlys, believed to rich in oil deposits,
are claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, Mainland China, Malaysia,
Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
In the past 18 months, Taiwan's air force has lost four F-16s
and five pilots. The F-16 fleet was grounded immediately after
the accident until early September 1999, when the mishap was
later confirmed to be related to engine problems. Either
the problems are our training mission or mechanical design,
the U.S.-made F-16 fighter air-craft should be concerned.
We agreed with DPP's Chen, what he has said in his foreign
policy white paper issue on Sunday (Nov. 28, 1999) that opposition
presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian called for broader participation
by Taiwan in international bodies, while keeping a return to
the United Nations its top goal, Chen also said, Taiwan's
foreign policy should no longer be determined by Cross-Strait
relations.
"Based on new internationalism, I want to
build a new image of Taiwan as a responsible member of the international
community," Chen told a new conference. "New
internationalism," he said, refers to comprehensive participation.
In international affairs, "under the primary goal of maintaining
our independence and sovereignty, Taiwan must find a "new
middle road" that can protect our national interests, such
as military and economic security".
Basically, how to prevent Beijing's aggression from international
communities that need political wisdom. Beijing has no reason
to attack Taiwan and what is important is that the two sides
forge solidarity among the people and avoid being splintered.
The ROC government has always stressed negotiation instead
of confrontation, and that President Lee Teng-hui has said that
Chinese people will help Chinese people. If both sides of the
Taiwan Strait can continue to maintain a dialogue that Cross-Strait
relations will improve.
"China's democratization is not only the blessing
of the Chinese people but also the deepest concern of the people
in Taiwan. We are willing to share Taiwan's experience of democratic
development with China," --- Chen Shui-bian
DPP Presidential candidate (Dec. 1, 1999) about WTO system that
only leading rich nations by the European Union insist on being
able to protect their farmers.
Meanwhile, the world's poorest countries, which agreed to open
their markets to more imports during the previous trade round,
are protesting that they have received the fewest benefits from
increased liberalization. They want more time to accept more
imports and they want richer nations such as the United States
to become more willing to buy their products.
Thousands of protests marched through the city's downtown Seattle,
claiming that ... This system despoils forests,
threatens U.S. workers, denies human rights and won't protect
the sea turtle from the ravages of Thai and Malaysian shrimpers
(Dec. 1, 1999).
In Taiwan the government is willing to conduct dialogue and
exchanges with mainland China in any location, including Macau,
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) vice chairman Lin Chong-pin said
on Nov. 29, 1999. In an effort to improve the current sluggish
relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Lien explained
Taiwan would like to boost bilateral exchanges and
talks with the mainland on any occasion, so long as Taiwan's
dignity and equality is fully protected.
Basically, Chinese people have become more individualistic,
secular and cyclical toward politics. There are
making gaps will widen between propaganda and reality, in which
could achieve its purpose that under the pressure of government's
communities. Jiang's dilemma is that he is a prisoner of the
communist party he leads, 50 years after its revolution. Jiang
understands the need for economic development, how to get people's
richer than before is the major issue, but political openness
is still out of the question.
Meanwhile, Jiang is still seeking his emperor's robes,
--- Mao exhorted China to stand up in the world,
--- Deng told Chinese it was glorious to get rich,
Jiang will continue to inspire the Chinese people toward international
position. His big obsession is Taiwan, he want some kind of
date for reunification. WTO may be as good as it gets for pre-unification.
Three weeks ago (Nov. 8, 1999), Harvard invited the presidents
of seven Chinese universities to meet in Cambridge with five
American counterparts. Over two days they held a series of discussions
aimed at teaching the Chinese education how to lift their institutions
to world class status. But it's no mystery why Chinese academia
trails the western variety; there's not much freedom
of thought on China's campuses. By not stressing the issue of
academic freedom, Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine apparently
wished to avoid embarrassing his guests ...
In our view, China's top scholars needed to hear the truth.
In China, "you kowtow to me,"
Jiang played his hand brilliantly, with the November deadline
for the WTO conference in Seattle approaching. He let Clinton
know at a summit in Auckland in September that two sides could
reopen discussion. But still he waited for Clinton to call him,
twice, before he told his negotiator to go for a deal --- That's
the emperor mentality.
