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Analyst concerned about US policy

PERSPECTIVE: A member of a right-wing US think tank said that if Washington really views referendums as a provocation to Beijing, its policy is too close to China's

By Monique Chu

STAFF REPORTER

An American analyst has questioned US reservations about Taiwan's plan to hold referendums, saying the stance, if confirmed, suggested Washington's Taiwan policy was drifting "dangerously close" to that of Beijing.

Gary Schmitt, executive director of the Project for the New American Century, said he was concerned about a reported warning from the de facto US ambassador to Taiwan to President Chen Shui-bian against referendums because they would provoke China.

Project for a New American Century is a group of neo-conservatives supported by US Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that promotes a more interventionist role for the US in international affairs.

While saying he could not confirm reports on the meeting between the president and Douglas Paal, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, Schmitt said Paal's representations would raise many questions if the reports are accurate.

"Why is the US de facto ambassador to Taipei conveying PRC policy toward Taiwan? The unfortunate answer is that US policy on Taiwan has drifted dangerously close to the mainland's by viewing Taiwan's democracy and efforts at self-determination as irresponsible and provocative -- rather than normal and admirable for a country of 23 million that has moved from dictatorship to democracy," Schmitt wrote on Tuesday.

"Another question is, how can the US oppose the exercise of democracy in Taiwan?" he said.

Schmitt also lamented what he saw as Washington's weak support for Taipei's efforts to gain international legitimacy by citing the lukewarm support the US gave to Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Organization.

These US policy decisions, Schmitt argued, would encourage China's leaders to view Taiwan's separateness as temporary, while making Taiwan feel unification is inevitable.

He said US officials who judged Taipei's efforts at gaining international standing or determining their own affairs as "provocative" would in effect be doing Beijing's bidding.

"In doing so, these officials virtually force the democratic government of Taiwan to seek opportunities to create the political and diplomatic space it needs to reaffirm its legitimate existence internationally -- creating the very crisis in cross-strait relations they are supposedly trying to avoid," Schmitt wrote.

Schmitt called for a "revised" American policy that "reassures Taiwan that unification is only possible if freely chosen by the people of Taiwan," and makes clear that the US would resist militarily any effort by China to force unification.

Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien has filed a telegram back to Taipei summarizing his meeting on Monday with AIT Chairwoman Therese Shaheen in New York City, insiders said.

"The minister said [in the telegram] he has expressed the government's position on the issue of referendums to Shaheen over their lunch meeting," said an official who has read the five-page summary.

"But the US does not support such a move," the official said.

Shaheen reportedly expressed US concerns to Chien over the government's move to hold consultative referendums on major policy issues, while raising questions regarding the necessity of referendums, China's reaction and other uncertainties.

But officials in Taipei declined to confirm these reported concerns from Shaheen, nor did the foreign minister touch upon these concerns in detail in his written report to Taipei.

Cabinet spokesman says Beijing is the real troublemaker

By Ko Shu-ling

STAFF REPORTER

The government yesterday branded China a troublemaker after Beijing voiced its "stern opposition to" referendums in Taiwan.

"The accusation that our plan to hold a referendum is crossing the red line is an oxymoron. China, with its continuous military buildup against Taiwan, is the one crossing the red line and the genuine troublemaker," Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung told reporters after the weekly closed-door Cabinet meeting yesterday morning.

Lin said Taiwanese were sickened to see a foreign country violently trying to deprive them of their basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

"In a democratic country, it's the inherent and inalienable right of the people to exercise initiative and referendum. We'll never let any country take this away from us," Lin said.

Lin was speaking in response to comments made by Beijing.

During a routine press conference, Li Weiyi, a spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, expressed his government's "stern opposition to" Taiwan's plan to hold a referendum because it considers such a move a prelude to a referendum on independence.

"We strongly oppose any action -- such as holding a referendum or adding the word Taiwan to the cover of Taiwan's passports -- that would divide the motherland and create instability across the Taiwan Strait," Li said. "We hope Taiwan will stop the plan immediately as well as all other activities under the name of referendums."

When asked whether the US had expressed its stance on the matter, Li said only that China and the US had a consensus on the Taiwan issue.

"The Taiwan issue is the most sensitive and core problem of Sino-US relations," Li said. "The US government should make good on its promise to ensure peace across the Taiwan Strait. To that end, it should insist on the `one China' policy, adhere to the three Sino-US communiques and oppose all forms of Taiwan independence."

Reiterating a pledge made by President Chen Shui-bian in his May 2000 inaugural address, Lin said that Taiwan will not seek a referendum on the independence issue as long as China does not attack.

"We won't cave in to China's pressure and stop pushing for the first islandwide referendum," Lin said. "We regret that political reasons have hampered the enactment of such a law to allow the people to initiate referendums."

Although the exercise of initiative and referendum is a right guaranteed by the Constitution, it also says that referendums need to be regulated by law.

In April last year the Cabinet sent an initiative and referendum bill to the legislature but lawmakers were deadlocked over the issues a vote should cover.

While there is no legal basis for the government to hold a referendum, Yu said on Monday that the Cabinet was drafting a measure to allow the government to do so. The provisional measure would automatically be nullified as soon as the legislature passes a referendum law.

Referendums must follow the law

By Wang Yeh-lih

`No matter how vicious the parents-in-law are, the ugly daughter-in-law will still have to meet them in the spirit of the Constitution.'

Because the Legislative Yuan has delayed the passage of a plebiscite law or an "initiative and referendum" law for a long time, the Executive Yuan has decided to formulate a set of guidelines for nationwide referendums to serve as a basis for holding referendums by executive order under the condition that they are "constitutional and not illegal."

"Executive orders can be formulated without authorization by law when it comes to bringing benefit and welfare to the people," some administration officials have said.

Article 17 of the Constitution clearly stipulates, "The people shall have the right of election, recall, initiative and referendum." Therefore, initiative and referendum are the basic rights of our citizens.

But Article 136 of the Constitution also stipulates, "The exercise of the rights of initiative and referendum shall be prescribed by law." Therefore, creating an initiative and referendum law is the Legislative Yuan's job. Because the passage of such a law has been delayed for so long, the Legislative Yuan can hardly avoid criticism of dereliction. However, does this delay give the Executive Yuan the right to formulate executive orders on referendums?

I would only like to raise one question: Does a referendum involve the people's rights and responsibilities? According to Article 5 of the Central Legal Standards Law, matters should be regulated by legislation if such regulation is required by the Constitution or other laws, or if they involve the people's rights and responsibilities. Article 6 of the same law also stipulates that matters that should be regulated by law shall not be handled by executive order.

Therefore, it goes without saying that initiatives and referendums should be regulated by legislation. Even if referendums involve the people's rights and responsibilities, they should still be regulated by legislation (unless they involve issues that are above the Constitutional level, such as national territory and sovereignty issues). It is not appropriate for the Executive Yuan to exceed its remit and do the work on behalf of others. This could unsettle the core values of the constitutional division of power.

Besides, if the Executive Yuan formulates referendum guidelines of its own accord, that will also be incompatible with articles related to "rules and decrees" (from Article 150 onwards) in the Administrative Procedure Law.

Further, even if the Executive Yuan formulates the guidelines of its own accord, it will still need to send them to the Legislative Yuan for "review" under the related articles (from Article 60 onwards) in the Law Governing the Legislature's Exercise of Power. In the future, budgets needed for holding referendums will have to be passed by the Legislative Yuan.

Therefore, no matter how vicious the parents-in-law are, the ugly daughter-in-law will still have to meet them in the spirit of the Constitution. After all, the ruling authorities, who have insisted on operating a minority government, cannot escape the Legislative Yuan's checks and balances, or even obstructionism.

To formulate an executive order that involves the people's rights and responsibilities without authorization by law -- on the grounds of "legislative dereliction" or "bringing benefit and welfare to the people" -- is a line frequently used by populist dictators. This indeed should not happen in a democratic Taiwan. Otherwise, we would have to redefine "constitutionalism" and "governance in accordance with the law."

Instead of taking such an inappropriate course, instead of pushing stubbornly to get their ideas and political platforms implemented, the authorities in the minority government should perhaps do their best to persuade the Legislative Yuan, through sincere partisan negotiations, to pass a referendum law as soon as possible.

When more and more people throughout the country are com-ing to understand the significance of referendums, and when the political parties are reaching an increasingly higher level of consensus on the matter, I believe the obstacles facing the referendum bill in the legislature will de-crease, as will the suspicions regarding a law that will allow the people to express their opinions on controversial public policies. The passage of related laws can then be expected soon.

The opposition parties, which control a majority in the legislature, should also reflect on their attitude toward the referendum issue. If they really say one thing and yet do another, they will eventually have to pay a political price in future elections.

The Executive Yuan's shocking and rather creative move may be only a tactic for prodding the legislature into doing its job. But I believe it will definitely create political pressure on the opposition parties. What we are more concerned about is that the shape of the Leviathan overshadowing Taiwan is becoming more and more distinct, while the vilified supervisory powers are becoming weaker and weaker.

Wang Yeh-lih is a professor of political science at Tunghai University.

US-Taiwan friendship still strong

By Dennis Hickey

The US and Taiwan have a long history of friendship. Indeed, the two countries concluded a mutual defense treaty in 1954 and were allies during the darkest days of the Cold War. The alliance was maintained until 1979, when Washington broke diplomatic relations with Taipei in an effort to line up Beijing in its global struggle against Moscow.

Some scholars speculate that the US administrations in the 1970s figured that the "Taiwan problem" would eventually disappear and believed the island would be absorbed by China. That didn't happen. Rather than die, Taiwan blossomed into an economic powerhouse and a multiparty democracy. Consequently, the relationship between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait continues to be a major issue in global politics.

Perhaps equally surprising, America's relationship with Taiwan remains strong. In fact, there have been meaningful changes in both political and security relations since 1979.

The US still does not officially recognize Taiwan. But there has been a significant modification in the political relationship. For example, high-level contacts between Washington and Taipei have resumed. Both former president Lee Teng-hui and President Chen Shui-bian were permitted to visit the US. The Chen visit was especially significant because he was allowed to meet with many US government officials. Subsequently, visits by other Taiwanese dignitaries have occurred.

Another political change in recent years has been the upgrading of Taiwan's "unofficial" representative offices in the US.

The vague and obscure designation that was used for many years has been jettisoned. More-over, Taiwanese officials may enter US government buildings to meet with their US counterparts. Furthermore, the "unofficial" US embassy in Taipei may now fly the American flag and incumbent diplomats may take up posts in Taipei.

Yet another political change is related to US policy toward the future of Taiwan. Rather than stress that a resolution of the Taiwan-China dispute must be settled by the Chinese themselves (which means the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait), the US now emphasizes that any change in Taiwan's status must be approved by the Taiwanese people.

It is not clear if this means that a change must be approved by a referendum, but this is an interesting development.

With respect to security ties, the US promised China that it would gradually reduce arms sales to Taiwan in 1982. But arms transfers have escalated. In 1992, then-president George Bush ap-proved the sale of 150 F16 fighters to Taiwan. And the Clinton administration approved the sale of tanks, missiles, helicopters, the Patriot anti-missile system, warships and other armaments. The current administration has ap-proved new warships, submarine killer aircraft and promised to help Taiwan buy eight submarines.

In addition, Washington has cancelled the annual review of arms sales, which had degenerated into an annual quarrel with Beijing. Arms will now be sold to Taiwan on a case-by-case basis.

Another change in security relations involves military contacts and cooperation between the two sides. US military teams are now being sent to Taiwan to observe military exercises. In a related vein, high-ranking Tai-wanese military officials travel to the US to discuss defense issues. And Congress has passed laws calling for the Bush administration to study the possibility of conducting joint military exercises with Taiwan and to treat Taiwan as a non-NATO ally, just like Japan and South Korea.

Perhaps most important is the US commitment to Taiwan's defense. Many describe the US defense commitment toward Taiwan as ambiguous. But in April 2001, President George W. Bush stunned the world when he was asked if the US had an obligation to defend Taiwan. Bush replied, "We do, and the Chinese must understand." Then, when asked in a follow-up question if this meant with the full force of the US military, the president replied that the US would do "whatever it takes" to help Taiwan defend itself.

To be sure, the US and Taiwan have moved closer together. Some claim that US-Taiwan relations have never been better. But will we see more changes in US-Taiwan relations? The answer to that question is "yes." People in Taiwan want to upgrade the names of their representative offices. This will eventually hap-pen. Also, expect to see more high-ranking US officials visiting Taiwan and more Taiwanese military officers coming to the US to study.

And we will certainly see the US become increasingly supportive of Taiwan's membership in the World Health Organization. After all, no reasonable person can oppose Taiwan's participation in this world body. So, it is likely that bilateral ties will continue to strengthen in the future. After all, this has been the trend for over two decades.

Dennis Hickey is university fellow in research and professor of political science at Southwest Missouri State University.

DPP poll indicates support for referendums

PUBLIC OPINION: More than half the respondents said they wanted the legislature to pass legislation on referendums even if the rest of the world doesn't like the idea

By Chang Yun-ping

STAFF REPORTER

"Despite opposition from around the world to Taiwan holding a referendum, more than 58 percent of the respondents in the poll think Taiwan should be firm and pass legislation on referendums."－Lee Ying-yuan, DPP vice secretary-general

The DPP yesterday released the results of an opinion poll indicating that more than half of the public support holding referendums on major policies.

The party also declared it would hold a referendum on public policy before President Chen Shui-bian's term expires on May 20 next year.

"Of the 58 percent, 48 percent demand that Taiwan pass the draft bill for the referendum law as soon as possible," Lee said.

He said that the results of the poll revealed how popular the idea of the referendum had become among Taiwanese.

"A referendum means the right of initiation stipulated in the Constitution, but these rights have been deprived by the KMT government in the past. The DPP vows to return these rights to the people," Lee said.

The poll, conducted on Monday, asked people whether they supported Taiwan's efforts to pass legislation on referendums despite opposition from the rest of the world.

Twenty-six percent of respondents disagreed with the idea of referendum legislation and 17 percent said they had no comment about the issue.

Lee said Beijing was the main force opposing referendums in Taiwan and had pressured the US to dissuade Taipei from passing the required legislation.

"Taiwan pursues cross-strait stability and peace. Taiwanese people have been maturing after getting direct election and recall rights. Now they want to use the referendum right to decide public policies and there is no doubt that they could use this right. The US should respect this fact," he said.

Lee said there was nothing Beijing could do to stop this country holding referendums if that is what the people want.

"The exact date of a referendum will be decided by the Executive Yuan, but one thing for sure is that we definitely will carry out the policy to hold a referendum before President Chen's presidency expires on May 20 next year," Lee said.

Lu stands by Chen, tells US to back off over referendums

By Lin Chieh-yu

STAFF REPORTER

Vice President Annette Lu yesterday defended President Chen Shui-bian's pledge to hold a national referendum during his presidency and urged the US not to interfere in the nation's domestic affairs.

"The US government is in no position to oppose our decision to hold referendums, which is a basic human right and also a mechanism to show the collective will of all Taiwanese," Lu said in a television interview yesterday.

"As an independent sovereign country, Taiwan, the Republic of China, will not allow any other country to interfere in its domestic affairs," Lu said.

She also praised Chen for demonstrating to the US Taiwan's resolution in realizing the DPP's long-term referendum policy.

"Since the US government expressed its concern about Taiwan's referendum issue, President Chen has made a remarkable statement in public that `Taiwan is neither a province nor a state of any country,'" Lu said. "Everybody should applaud the president for defending Taiwan's dignity."

Lu stressed that the president informed her of the details of the meeting between himself and American Institute in Taiwan Director Douglas Paal.

"President Chen clearly told me that Paal did not mention the US government's opposition to Taiwan's referendum policy," she said.

"Therefore, I believe that those media reports the day after the meeting all over-emphasized" the situation, she said.

"The media always selectively takes things out of context and then interprets them in a biased manner," Lu said.

She said that any tension across the Taiwan Strait was the result of Beijing's rude and irrational obstruction of Taiwan in the international community.

"We have seen how China cheated the world on the issue of SARS during the World Health Organization's [WHO] annual meeting as well as how its Vice Premier Wu Yi showed her arrogant attitude toward Taiwan's representatives during the occasion," Lu said.

"Those are the reasons we have to exercise a national referendum on the issue of joining the WHO to demonstrate the anger and resolution of all Taiwanese," she said.

Lu said that Taiwan should not be afraid of holding a referendum on independence because China remains a military and national security threat to the nation.

"In President Chen's inauguration speech, the prerequisite for his `five no's' promises, which included that the DPP government would not hold any national referendums on the independence issue, is that China must give up its military intimidation," Lu said.

"However, during the past three years, Beijing ignored President Chen's goodwill to make peace and enhance cross-strait exchanges, and instead accelerated its military expansion and deployed more weapons of mass destruction aimed at Taiwan," Lu said. "Therefore, we would be justified in making the independence referendum a reality."