Security alliance on Aug 15, 2004

Chang: Security alliance needed

CALL TO ACTION: The Democratic Pacific Assembly should form a security mechanism similar to that of the UN Security Council, a National Security Council official said

By Joy Su
STAFF REPORTER

While participants and government officials at Annette Lu's annual international conference, the Democratic Pacific Assembly, took a stance against inaction, a call to establish a regional security mechanism was yesterday met with doubt.

"Whether [security issues] are a matter of nature or nurture, institutional control is a mechanism we should think about. In the Asia-Pacific region, we do not have such a mechanism," said National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Parris Chang.

"The UN has failed in this aspect. We need a new security mechanism for our region. A threat to one country -- an attack on one country is an attack on all the other countries," Chang said, alluding to the threat to the nation posed by China.

On this point Chang didn't mince words: "China has more than 500 missiles aimed at Taiwan, and we are not alone in taking this threat seriously -- even as the US treats this issue with considerable apprehension," Chang said.

"The Democratic Pacific Union should be an alliance of security, an alliance of core values, and an alliance for prosperity," Chang added.

When forum moderator, US Congressman Charles Rangel, asked participants to comment on Chang's lack of confidence in the UN and proposal to establish a new security alliance, participants chose to skirt the issue and instead focused on UN failures.

Chris Barrie, a visiting fellow from Australian National University's Strategic and Defense Studies Center said the "UN is an ineffective and hopeless organization incapable of solving any of the world's problems," but failed to comment on Chang's call for new regional security mechanisms.

Asked whether the establishment of a regional collective security program was possible, Rangel pointed to the difficulties involved in garnering government support.

"I don't know to what extent my government would recognize an international organization like this," Rangel said.

"There are so many countries that are participating and of course unless their countries agree to support it then it's nothing but a great idea," he told Taipei Times yesterday.

Rangel was not alone in his observation that the political leadership of Democratic Pacific Assembly members would make it difficult for the creation of a regional security alliance.

The conference, which aims in part to bring about regional integration, saw representation from countries as geographically diverse as Canada, Indonesia, Grenada, Ireland, Japan, and El Salvador.

Jamil Mahuad, a visiting professor at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, noted a similar challenge.

"We need to define clearly the problem that we are trying to solve. Insecurity is different everywhere," Mahuad said, citing terrorism, genocide, and street crime as different forms of insecurity taking on different levels of importance in different nations.

"[The assembly] needs to define the issues, and once we've defined them, we have to develop an action plan and measure the result," Menendez said.

Chang later expressed opposition to inaction by the assembly, saying that the problem with the UN Security Council was that people were killed while the council debated issues.

While Chang yesterday called for a regional security mechanism that would be "founded on a commitment to peaceful resolution, respect for human rights, and transparency," the next step remained unclear.

"I think they're trying to emphasize that if [the mechanism] gets enough regional support there is no telling what could happen," Rangel said.

"The first two years, we're just focusing on promoting and achieving a consensus on universal values," said John Kao, director of the assembly's initial planning committee.

Kao explained that the assembly's long term goal was to establish a permanent international organization called the Democratic Pacific Union with representative offices abroad.

Chen warns of China's three-pronged war aimed at destabilizing the nation

By Huang Tai-lin
STAFF REPORTER

President Chen Shui-bian yesterday warned of China's new tactics to destabilize Taiwan and disrupt and undermine its democratic development.

"Recently China has actively prepared itself for three types of warfare against Taiwan: psychological, media and legal," Chen said in his keynote speech delivered yesterday at the opening ceremony of the Democratic Pacific Assembly, held at the Grand Hotel in Taipei.

"Besides the possibility of using of force, China is seeking to shake the morale of our armed forces personnel and undermine the psychological preparedness of our people by taking advantage of a political system that is still undergoing democratic transition," Chen said, adding that China's intention to enact a unification law is also an attempt trying to realize the "One China" principle through legal means.

During Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Europe in May, Wen said that China may write a unification law, of which will serve as the legal basis for using military force against what China views as separatist movements.

"The draft bill attempts to provide a so-called legal basis for the use of force against Taiwan in the future," Chen said.

He also said that if the law comes into being, Taiwan's democratic development will be at stake and the democratic development of other nations in the region will be hindered.

"It is an issue of grave concern for Taiwan and all countries in the Pacific Rim," Chen said.

Calling Pacific nations' attention to the threats poses by China to democracies in the region, Chen expressed hope that democratic countries on either side of the Pacific Ocean could form what he called Democratic Pacific Union (DPU) better safeguard peace, security, freedom, democracy and economic prosperity in the region.

"The formation of the DPU would provide a platform for dialogue and cooperation on both sides of the Pacific Ocean and establish the framework for a security and economic alliance between Taiwan and other democracies across the Pacific," Chen said, adding that Taiwan remains resolute in pursuing peace and democracy in the face of China's international diplomatic isolation and military intimidation.

Visiting Salvadoran President Antonio Saca gave a speech at the event yesterday.

In it, Saca lauded Taiwan and said despite many setbacks, the country had become a model for developing democratic countries.

Saca also said that although it is a democratic nation which plays an important role in the world economy, "Taiwan still suffers in many situations that are hard for other nations to imagine, such as its exclusion from the United Nations and a rejection by the international community."

"Unlike El Salvador, which has a voice in the United Nations, Taiwan is denied of its right to speak as a sovereign country, shut out from participating in organizations and rejected by the international community," Saca said, adding that the difficult conditions Taiwan is in threatens regional peace and security.

Resist the black hand of Beijing

Following the public doubt over the loyalty of artists incited by the A-mei incident, Beijing has now forbidden all Chinese artists visiting Taiwan to appear on China Television Systems (CTS) shows. This incident once again lets people see clearly the black hand of Beijing trying to manipulate and control the political and social situation in this country.

Since the May 20 presidential inauguration ceremony, China has named and criticized "green businesspeople," thereby intensifying cross-strait tension. This strategy of punishing a few to warn others has resulted in a string of Taiwanese businesspeople coming out to offer their loyalty to Beijing. Even the chairman of Formosa Plastics, Wang Yung-ching felt compelled to travel to Beijing in person to display his loyalty, making a quiet return to Taiwan on Friday.

Beijing is now directing its attention to Taiwan's popular culture. When the artist and pan-green supporter Chiang Hsia took over as head of CTS, Chinese officialdom began attacking the TV station. In addition to not issuing broadcasting permission for a prime-time TV series jointly produced by CTS and Chinese TV, Beijing has also forbidden the appearances on CTS shows by all Chinese artists visiting Taiwan. This was the reason why the actress Zhang Ziyi, who visited the country last month to promote the film House of Flying Daggers, suddenly had to cancel her appearance on CTS' Super Sunday.

Just as Zhang was preparing to come to Taiwan, the Chinese authorities ordered her not to participate in the show because "CTS is now controlled by Taiwan independence proponents." Zhang did not have the courage to disobey such a command, and she couldn't state the reason for her cancellation due to her concerns about getting involved in politics, which could affect the film's performance at the box office.

In order to neutralize this attack and follow the principle of prioritizing local entertainers, CTS filled the 8pm prime-time slot with a political talk show, Taiwan Advancement, becoming Taiwan's first free TV station to schedule a political talk show for the prime-time slot. Nevertheless, because Taiwan Advancement, hosted by Wang Ben-hu, is regarded as deeply pro-green, it has made the Chinese authorities intensify their efforts to boycott CTS.

Unfortunately, on Friday evening, Wang felt the heat from China's pressure on CTS, and declared his resignation from the position as host of Taiwan Advancement, something that now has emerged as front-page news.

China's evil attempts to manipulate this country at all times are expanding. Originally, Beijing only targeted pro-independence Taiwanese businesspeople and entertainers in China. Now, it is extending its dirty hands into Taiwan, trying to boycott media operators and hosts that support the green camp. This action is absolutely ridiculous. Moreover, a few local media have degraded themselves by serving as China's mouthpieces. They have recently echoed Beijing by joining in its attacks on the green camp. Such actions are even more despicable.

China has often adopted a "stick" approach, rather than a "carrot" approach, when handling the Taiwan issue. Its logic goes against international values and the tides of the times, and its methods are clumsy and vicious. It always irritates the people of Taiwan, and makes a joke of China in the international community.

The whole world realizes that our neighbor is a bully threatening us with instruments of state terrorism, such as its ballistic missiles, while reaching its hands into every corner of Taiwan's society. How can the public not wake up and have a clear sense of friend and foe?

Self-renewal key to national unity

By Lee Min-yung

The nation's worries are rooted in politics. The "fictitious," "foreign" and "residual" state underwent a transition of power, which sent politicians of all creeds on a scramble for power. After falling from power in 2000, those affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had to wait another four years for their next chance. They continued to hold on to the notion of the party state and were able to boycott everything the new government did by virtue of having maintained a majority in the legislature. This year's election is long over, but they are still claiming the illegitimacy of the re-elected government, to the extent that they are washing our dirty linen abroad.

Politicians affiliated with the KMT, the People First Party (PFP) and the New Party have been dividing their time between trying to hobble the government and coming up with ways to increase their own power -- hardly the behavior of a bona fide opposition. Meanwhile, former colleagues of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), particularly the old comrades from the days of the Kaohsiung Incident jealous at seeing a new generation come into their own, have come to replace the KMT as the challenge to the DPP government, constituting a third group. They have suddenly joined ranks with the KMT, PFP or New Party, shouting anti-Chen Shui-bian slogans, and seeing themselves as saviors of democracy.

This is all about trying to fit the government system to one's own needs. Whereas before the presidential system was hailed as the answer to everything, favor has since switched to parliamentary system. The country's political culture has yet to fully recover from the decades of corruption brought on as a result of long term KMT government since the end of the war, and both the presidential system and parliamentary system have had their share of criticism due to problems concerning the caliber of the politicians. Both systems have their advantages. The system itself is not the most important consideration, it's the people who operate within it.

Is the parliamentary system a solution to corruption? If the pro-Taiwan political parties -- the DPP and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) -- secured a victory in the legislature, or if they formed a majority alliance, and we had a state apparatus with the DPP and TSU in the driving seat, what would that achieve? And if we return to a presidential system? Then we could forget about problems revolving around this "fictitious," "foreign" and "residual" Republic of China.

The problem with the DPP government under Chen is its belief that it has too little support in society. This makes it difficult for the government to make any progress, and leads to it inheriting criticisms formerly leveled at the KMT government -- namely, excessive conservatism and insufficient creativity. The pan-blues are only interested in wresting power back for themselves, and have even been known to delve into the National Treasury to finance their old habits. How can they win the trust of Taiwan's people like this?

A third group has shifted from a position of wanting to see the KMT wiped off the face of the planet to plotting alongside it. The political halo of politicians in this third group has faded as their allegiance seems to be informed by opportunism. They were once members of the other two groups, and fear that they will end up as nobodies. They are compounding the political confusion brought on by outsiders with their nihilism.

Again, the problem does not lie in whether we have a presidential system or a parliamentary system: the problem is in the individuals themselves. This system, after half a decade of KMT rule, has been corrupted due to the low caliber of the politicians within it.

Given that the problem lies in the politicians themselves, it would be worthwhile to take a look at these individuals, starting with those in the DPP, the ruling party. Chen is a son of Taiwan from the post-war period. The problem of rebuilding the nation, and of transforming it through peaceful means from an illegitimate irregular state into a more conventional state has been left to the post-war generation of politicians. KMT Chairman Lien Chan should stand down, PFP Chairman James Soong should step aside, and Taiwan Democracy School founder Hsu Hsin-liang ought to abandon politics. Even former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh should choose a more fitting occupation.

But back to people -- and not politicians or those people who are politicians but who pretend that they are not. The Taiwanese have got to shake the bizarre mentality that the nature of the citizenry is contingent on the nature of the nation, and vice versa. We have got to realize that these matters cannot simply be broken down to the level of the state, and that the fulfillment of our hopes begins with the qualities of individuals.

The legacy of a Chinese-style and KMT-style party state system is extremely pernicious. We should not hold out any hope that a Chinese-style, KMT state in Taiwan will ever result in a normal, regular country. Instead, we have to encourage the DPP government to leave behind the ghost of that model, and start down the road to reconstruction. The hope is that the politicians, and in fact everyone that lives in Taiwan, should attempt a self-renewal in their various capacities as individuals, as Taiwanese, as citizens of Taiwan and as citizens of the world.

Those that see nothing but loathing and disillusionment, lost as they are in the current political doldrums, need to think about these various viewpoints if they are to recreate themselves in a positive way as individuals and citizens, and thereby recreate the nation in which they live.

First, there is the question of the individual, which is fundamental. We must first transform ourselves into normal, wholesome, good people. We have to become balanced individuals, physically and emotionally, in terms of our wisdom and education, our physical body and our souls, substance and spirit, economics and culture, and find a harmonious balance between the private and the social.

Second, we have to develop a consciousness of what it is to be Taiwanese. This includes an historical awareness, to understand both the past and present, and a geographical awareness of our island location. This combined historical and geographical consciousness will enable the Taiwanese to develop a concept of having a shared destiny and form a feeling of mutual understanding.

Next comes the recognition of ourselves as the citizenry of Taiwan. How to establish ourselves as citizens, with all the rights and duties that follow, falls within the realm of the law. This entails identifying ourselves as belonging to one nation as opposed to another. But this is meant to bring us together rather than distance ourselves from others. The "Chinese" have become confused between their national and ethnic identities, and these need to be clarified. The Chinese, KMT-style party state model needs to be discarded.

Then there is identification of ourselves as citizens of the world. Despite the fact that a nation-state is the primary political unit, the trend nowadays is for greater communication and mutual support between these states and their citizens. This is to enhance a consciousness of global unity and to benefit humankind, and to avoid the enmity bred by nationalism.

This country has very close economic ties with the rest of the world. This should be extended also to the cultural sphere, to foster in the Taiwanese an understanding of their role as citizens of the world.

The political strife and social problems that the nation is currently undergoing are the result of too many ghosts from a past political era. Such outdated thinking has left the country exhausted, laboring under artificial criteria on the nature of a state enforced from outside, and the scrambling of politicians from a bygone age still seeking to grab some advantage for themselves. For the sake of our future, we have to consider our situation as individuals, as Taiwanese, as citizens of Taiwan, and as citizens of the world.

Lee Min-yung is a poet.

Historians urge learning from nation's past

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY: One historian says that the nation's people can blame themselves for not struggling hard enough for independence after World War II

By Chang Yun-ping
STAFF REPORTER

On the eve of the 59th anniversary of the end of WWII, historians yesterday said the Taiwanese people -- who had missed an opportunity to gain independence along with other post-war colonial movements -- should wake up and recognize the values of self-determination and self-sufficiency in seeking to bolster the nation.

In a seminar held by the Modern Academic Research Foundation, Lee Yung-chih, a National Taiwan University history professor, said the end of WWII marked the start of a tragic passage in the Taiwanese people's struggle for a sense of national belonging.

"The end of WWII was also a beginning for colonies who were seeking independence ... former British colonies gained independence through peaceful negotiations, and some French-ruled colonies reached this goal through the use of force. But Taiwan unfortunately didn't catch this global wave of colonial independence movements, because of the lack of a strong sense of self-determination," said Lee.

Lee said the awakening of the public's desire for nationhood came very slowly. This yearning for an independent nation was repressed during Japan's colonization. Therefore, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) forces claimed sovereignty over the country after the war ended, the Taiwanese people didn't hesitate to embrace the so-called "mother nation" of the Republic of China.

It took them 50 years to realize that KMT rule shattered their aspirations for a sense of national belonging.

"It was quite self-destructive for the Taiwanese to see the KMT's occupation ... as the return to the mother nation," Lee said. "How many years have the Taiwanese been living in that state of degradation? We can blame no one but ourselves for the current difficult struggle for indepen-dence, because we didn't do enough back then."

Hsueh Hua-yuen, a history professor at National Chengchi University, said that many historical facts were distorted by the KMT to legitimize its rule of the nation.

"It was wrong for the KMT to justify its legitimacy to rule Taiwan through the Cairo Statement (which stated that all Japanese-occupied territories including Taiwan should be returned to `China'). We all know the transfer of territories is only legal through the signing of a treaty, not the announcement of a statement. But the KMT manipulated history and lied to our people," Hsueh noted.

Academia Historica President Chang Yen-hsien said the word "retrocession," commonly used to describe Taiwan's being taken over by ROC on Oct. 25 1945 has undermined the individuality and independence of Taiwanese people.

"Such a retrocession [to China] doesn't mean the restoration of a Taiwan nation nor does it mean the end of the state of colonization. Rather, the use of [the word] retrocession has impeded the building of a national identity," he said.

Chang said the uncertainty of Taiwanese people facing the failure of the Japanese occupation, and their high expectations at the KMT's arrival -- which led to a series of disappointments culminating in the 228 Incident -- should be recaptured to highlight the historical vulnerability of the Taiwanese people.