Arms budget on Oct 21, 2004

Arms budget proponents protest at KMT headquarters
AP , TAIPEI
 

Protesters chanted "Care for Taiwan, protect our home!" yesterday as they rallied outside the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) headquarters, urging lawmakers to support buying US weapons to defend against a possible Chinese attack.

The opposition says the NT$610 billion (US$18 billion) package -- including submarines, Patriot missiles and sub-hunting planes -- is too expensive and would spark an arms race with China that would bankrupt Taiwan.

As leaders of the KMT held their weekly meeting yesterday, about 100 protesters gathered outside the party's headquarters. Some wore white paper masks featuring the face of KMT Chairman Lien Chan.

"Care for Taiwan, protect our home!" said the protesters, led by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers.

A small group of rival protesters waved red and blue Nationalist flags and shouted, "President Chen Shui-bian should step down!"

Tempers flared in the legislature Tuesday when opposition lawmakers blocked the weapons-budget proposal from moving through committees to a final vote.

DPP lawmakers threw papers and booklets at opposition members before walking out of a committee meeting about the arms budget. Some DPP legislators accused the opposition of wanting to surrender to China.

KMT Legislator Chu Fong-chi yelled back at the DPP, "You don't love Taiwan! You only love America!"

KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu also accused the DPP of kowtowing to Washington. She shouted crude sexual remarks that questioned the manhood of the male DPP lawmakers supporting the weapons package.

Signing on to the UN

By Yang Ji-charng

As expected, China rejected President Chen Shui-bian's call for cross strait talks based on the spirit of 1992 meeting in Hong Kong.

China's haughty stance toward Taiwan is very clear: surrender yourself or face the consequences. Obviously, China's rise on the world stage is unconcerned with its neighbors. It is a threat.

Riding on an inflated sense of nationalism, leaders in Bei-jing have boxed themselves into an irreversible impasse when it comes to dealing with China's often turbulent past with its neighbors, including like Japan, Taiwan and Korea. This is the fault of Chinese Communist Party. To justify its legitimacy over China and consolidate its grip on power, the communists have practicing another type of Nazism. They have turned the 1.3 billion Chinese into a hateful bunch of ultranationalists. They have become a conglomerate of bullies. Everyone has to bow to the new emperor even when the emperor has no clothes.

Besides the weapons procurement and fruitless attempts to initiate talks, Taiwan must join the UN in order to safeguard its sovereignty and break the political apartheid imposed by China. Taiwan's effort to join the UN have been in vain; its appeals to the UN and the world have fallen on deaf ears.

Being a prosperous and democratic country, Taiwan need not make sacrifices like those made by the East Timorese. However, Taiwan has to make its case to the world louder and with more vigor. I propose here that we start a signature drive, collecting the signatures of all 23 million people in Taiwan -- regardless of political persuasion -- stating clearly our wish four inclusion in the UN.

This will be a huge historical event that underscores the resolve of the Taiwanese people. If such a thing were to occur, the UN and the world could no longer ignore us. Then the world will see how the UN acts when challenged by its own principle of self-determination. Hopefully justice, humanity, democracy and freedom will prevail.

EU would be wrong to sell armsto China

By Gerrit van der Wees

At their meeting in Luxemburg on Oct. 11-12, the EU foreign ministers decided to maintain -- for the time being -- the EU arms embargo against China. According to press reports, the EU will review its policy on the basis of three criteria: China's human rights record, tension with Taiwan and the as yet incomplete EU code of conduct on arms exports.

The Beijing authorities have argued that the arms ban is outdated and "a product of the Cold War."

French President Jacques Chirac has echoed this, and has become the EU's strongest advocate for lifting the embargo, no doubt driven by the prospects of lucrative orders for France's military industry. Reportedly, France's enthusiasm is also prompted by the desire to get China's support to have the the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor built at Cadarache, near Tarragone in the south of France.

The fact is, however, that the embargo had nothing to do with the Cold War, but was imposed after China's military crackdown in 1989 on peaceful demonstrators at Tiananmen Square. Since then, China's human rights abuses have continued unabated, and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have documented that China's human rights record has in effect deteriorated over the past 15 years.

Lifting the embargo under these circumstances would send a distinctly wrong signal to China. The EU should let China know that improvement of human rights is a condition sine qua non for enhancing relations with Europe.

Just as important is stability in the Taiwan Strait: lifting the ban will have far-reaching implications for peace and security in Southeast Asia. It will upset the balance of power in the Taiwan Strait and cause instability in the region.

China itself is the major source of that instability in the Strait. Until now, the EU has hardly given any attention or thought to resolving the issue. Time has come for the EU to join forces with the US in convincing China that Beijing's policies toward Taiwan are an outdated remnant of the Chinese Civil War.

In his Oct. 10 National Day Speech, President Chen Shui-bian extended an olive branch by proposing to resume the cross-strait dialogue and to take specific measures to reduce military tension. A few days later, Zhang Mingqing, the spokesman of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, rudely rejected Chen's proposals, which had been described as creative and conciliatory by the US State Department.

The EU thus needs to help convince Beijing that Taiwan is not the "arch-enemy" from the days of Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), but that -- after 38 years of martial law -- the Taiwanese people have made an impressive transition to democracy, and strive to live in peace with all their neighbors, including China.

Instead of considering the sale of arms to China, the EU should end its policy of isolating a democratic Taiwan, and work toward normalizing relations with Taipei. Such a policy is based on the basic principles of democracy and the right to self-determination as laid down in the UN Charter. Europe prides itself on its long history of democracy, from the British Magna Charta to the French Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite.

Selling arms to a repressive, communist China so it can threaten a newly free and democratic Taiwan would be a violation of the basic principles we Europeans hold dear. The EU should not let Taiwan remain an orphan, but help make it a full and equal member of the international community.

Gerrit van der Wees is editor of Taiwan Communique, a publication based in Washington.

Beijing's strategy against Taiwan

By Sushil Seth
 

President Chen Shui-bian is not making much headway in interesting China in holding talks with Taiwan. His call for a code of conduct to prevent an outbreak of conflict in the Taiwan Strait doesn't interest China either. It has dismissed his peace call as "too insincere and vague to be treated seriously."

Chen recently suggested -- on the 93rd anniversary of the founding of the Chinese republic in 1911 -- the reopening of talks between the two sides akin to the 1992 meeting of officials in Hong Kong.

Beijing apparently sees a plot in this and other peace initiatives, designed to legitimize Taiwan's separate and sovereign existence. China is also not keen to further legitimize Chen's popular credentials as Taiwan's democratically elected president. In other words, Beijing doesn't want talks without a prior recognition of Taiwan's status as part of China. In that case, there is nothing left for Taipei to talk about except its terms of surrender.

But Chen keeps trying. He has once again reiterated his country's desire to establish peaceful political relations with China "in any form whatsoever." Elaborating, he said, "We would not exclude any possibility [including, apparently, unification], so long as it has the consent of the 23 million people of Taiwan."

Beijing is not impressed.

There was a vague hope in some quarters that former president Jiang Zemin's political retirement might moderate Beijing's stance. But it is business as usual. In his first speech as the country's military supremo, President Hu Jintao urged the People's Liberation Army (PLA) "to seize the moment and do a good job of preparing for a military struggle." And China keeps on upping the ante with even greater shows of force.

According to Chen, "At present, there are more than 600 ballistic missiles targeting Taiwan, and the numbers grow by 50 to 75 missiles each year?" But as Taipei undertakes to strengthen its defenses against China's relentless military build-up, Beijing starts to cry foul.

China, for instance, is terribly upset because Taiwan wants to buy from the US a package of sophisticated weaponry -- including warships, submarines and missile defenses -- worth US$18 billion to bolster its defenses, even though it might take years for these weapons to be delivered and become operational. And that only if Taiwanese politicians eventually agree to the government's proposals.

We know that China wants to annex Taiwan, with or without force. Beijing regards it as a "renegade" province and hence part of China. They would very much like a Hong Kong-type solution where the colonial power settled its return on the basis of an autonomy package. The problem, though, is that Taiwan is not ruled by a colonial power. It is a democracy ruled by the will of its people, expressed through periodic elections.

Unlike China's leaders, appointed through a carefully controlled party hierarchy, Chen was actually elected by his people. China's oligarchs don't trust him because they can't control him. He is accountable to his people. Beijing, therefore, has a big problem if it wants to override and outlaw the Taiwanese people.

This is madness. But there is a method to China's madness. Their blueprint for Taiwan's annexation has several elements. First, they seek to subvert Taiwan from within. They do this by cultivating the business community, and political parties and groups keen to make a deal with China. These Taiwanese groups do not want to confront China and believe that they can create a modus vivendi, like prospective unification over an extended period of time.

At another level, Beijing has been trying, over the years, to create a siege mentality among the people of Taiwan, and it does show now and then. It is a calculated strategy, through constant military threats, to wear down people's psychological defenses and make them wish for accommodation facilitated by a pliable leadership. Taiwan is not there yet. With its strong defenses, it could still give China a run for its money. But for that, the country needs unity of purpose.

Of course, it also needs the support and commitment of its powerful friend in the US. At this point in time the US is overstretched in Iraq and in its war on global terrorism. Therefore, it wouldn't want to confront China in the Taiwan Strait, unless absolutely necessary. It is, therefore, urging both sides to show restraint.

But the US is committed under its Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 to help Taiwan defend itself against a Chinese military invasion. And to this end it has been urging Taiwan to bolster its defenses to prevent its sudden collapse [in the event of an attack], and thereby give the US time to come to its assistance. The US commitment is, therefore, evident from its willingness to sell sophisticated weaponry to Taiwan against China's shrill opposition.

At another level, China is pressing ahead with Taiwan's international isolation. It is doing this using its economic and political clout, as well as the US' weakened international stature. Witness, for instance, the recent China visit of French President Jacques Chirac. With their economies stuck in a rut, major European countries are engaged in a bidding war to get China's business. Beijing, of course, encourages this, both for economic and political reasons. A bidding war enables China to get bargain prices, as well as to optimize its political goals.

During his visit, Chirac went out of the way to court his hosts. He brushed aside the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre as "another time," and supported the lifting of the EU's arms embargo on China imposed after that. Worse still, he said that the arms embargo "was an expedient measure adopted at that time." He added, "It was mainly derived from animosity toward China."

On Taiwan, Chirac said that France "completely understands" China's position and was against "any challenge to the balance in the Taiwan Strait region" as being "very dangerous and detrimental for everyone."

Chirac also went along with China's new buzz word of cementing their "strategic partnership." This is China's code word for creating a web of international relationships as a counter to US global supremacy. Hu indicated this much when he posited China's "strategic partnership" with France to resist US "unilateralism." (Incidentally, China is also building up its relationship with Australia as a "strategic partnership," with their two navies holding limited search and rescue exercises off China's northeast coast).

Chirac's special enthusiasm for China is fueled by the prospects of lucrative contracts for its aircraft, car, nuclear and other industries, for which China is emerging as a major buyer. And it is quite likely that Chirac's political pitch to support China on Taiwan and a host of other issues will get France the goodies it is seeking.

At the end, there is always the military option to annex Taiwan. But that entails serious risks because it wouldn't be a cakewalk. Any invasion of Taiwan would require assembling a huge military machine involving all elements of China's armed forces, not only to invade but to successfully occupy a largely hostile country. And that is easier said than done, particularly when factoring in US military involvement.

But the specter of Chinese invasion not only keeps the Taiwanese on edge, but also puts more pressure on Taipei internationally -- including from the US -- to avoid provoking Beijing. (Who is provoking who is another matter.) And that serves China's immediate interests -- to maintain the fiction that Taiwan is not an international entity.

Sushil Seth is a freelance writer based in Sydney.

Chen to sue over graft allegations

EATING TOFU: Pan-blue legislators accused the president of improper dealings with a former Panamanian president, and now Chen is `furious'

By Huang Tai-lin and Debby Wu
STAFF REPORTERS

The Presidential Office yesterday said it will take legal action against People First Party (PFP) legislators for accusing President Chen Shui-bian of giving former Panamanian president Mireya Moscoso US$1 million as a "settlement fee" and for "inappropriate conduct" in his dealings with Moscoso.

Sternly refuting the allegation, Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Tseng-chang said Chen was "furious upon hearing the claims made by these few unworthy politicians, who were vilifying their head of state and were damaging the relationship between Taiwan and Panama."

Su yesterday said the PFPs claims were "totally fabricated."

"In order to safeguard the dignity of the head of state, our friendship with diplomatic allies and our foreign affairs personnel, [we will] take immediate legal action on this matter," Su said on the sidelines of a news conference at the Presidential Office.

Stating that the president, as the head of the state, represents the nation and that a nation's foreign diplomatic affairs are the concern of the entire country, Su urged "a few unworthy politicians" not to make indiscriminate allegations or undertake actions that smear the president and cause harm to the nation and its people.

Su made the remarks in response to the PFP legislative caucus, which accused the government of giving US$1 million to Moscoso as a birthday gift "some time ago" when President Chen Shui-bian visited Panama in September.

When asked why Chen should give money to Moscoso, who stepped down in September, PFP caucus whip Liu Wen-hsiung said that it might be because Chen had "improper physical contact" (chi doufu) with Moscoso.

"The money may be a settlement fee with Moscoso," Liu said.

When questioned about which media reports the PFP was referring to, PFP Legislator Norman Yin said that the information was based on comments made by UFO Radio chairman Jaw Shaw-kong on NEWS 98 Radio two days ago. Jaw is a well-known pro-blue shock jock.

"Jaw said in the NEWS 98 Radio program that Moscoso showed off her US$1 million everywhere, and that she told everyone that the money was a birthday gift from the ROC president," Yin said.

When contacted by reporters, however, Jaw said that he never hinted at the possibility of sexual harassment nor of a settlement fee.

"I mostly get stories from Chinese-language Web sites," Jaw said.

After a quick search, the Taipei Times found what could be the original source of the stories mentioned by Jaw at www.people.com.cn/GB/shizheng/1025/2701016.html. The story was posted on the Global Times Web site, a weekly newsletter issued by China's state-run People's Daily.

The story, dated Aug. 11, was entitled "The inside story of Taiwan's diplomatic ties with Central America," and was written by the Global Times reporter in Venezuela Liu Hong.

He quoted a "long-time Chinese resident of Panama surnamed Deng" as saying the Taiwanese government gave money to Moscoso. Liu did not elaborate on Deng's identity.

Liu said that Deng, who had "good connections" with Panama-nian officials, told him about the government's gift to Moscoso.

"Taiwan also sent someone to give Moscoso a red envelope [for her birthday]. There was a check for US$1 million inside the red envelope. The female president was very happy to receive the gift, and she showed off the check everywhere," Liu wrote.

The story was widely quoted by other Chinese media outlets.

Cabinet to press KMT over assets

FORCING THE ISSUE: The Cabinet said it was preparing to launch legal action against the KMT for property obtained during its time in power

By Ko Shu-ling and Jewel Huang
STAFF REPORTERS  

The Executive Yuan is scheduled to take legal action against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and its party-owned enterprises tomorrow in a bid to reclaim assets deemed improperly acquired during its 50-year reign.

"The KMT seriously twists the Civil Law when it lays claim to ownership of real estate that has been occupied by it for over 20 years, despite the fact that many of these properties do not have a registered owner," Cabinet Spokesman Chen Chi-mai said at a press conference held after the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday morning.

In fact, the owner of the real estate the Cabinet wishes to reclaim from the KMT is registered either to the Republic of China or other private individuals, Chen said.

Cabinet's right

Although some of the properties have already passed the 15-year retroactive period stipulated in the Civil Law, Chen said the Cabinet has the right to request the KMT return such properties, according to a ruling made by the Council of Grand Justices.

Insinuating that the KMT is a group of thieves, Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday called on the party to return assets inappropriately obtained before the transfer of power and those disposed of afterwards.

"[The KMT] is like a housekeeper who doesn't bring anything to the master's house. But 50 years later, the housekeeper became much better-off than his master," Yu said.

"When the master finds out that the housekeeper has pocketed some of his possessions and requests that they be given back, the housekeeper claims to have legally acquired the belongings and asks his master to provide evidence to prove his allegation," Yu said.

KMT Chairman Lien Chan had promised to return the party's questionable assets in the run-up to the 2000 and this year's presidential election.

Yu urged Lien, as a responsible politician, to make good on his promises.

As the December legislative elections approach, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has launched campaigns to embarrass the image of its arch-political rival, the KMT. One of the DPP's strategies includes attacking the KMT's controversial assets.

Lee not targeted

Meanwhile, DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung yesterday rebutted a KMT claim that the DPP is targeting former president Lee Teng-hui -- who is also a former KMT chairman -- by demanding the party return improperly obtained property to the government. Chang stressed that the issue had nothing to do with who was, or is, the KMT chairman.

"The DPP did not mean to target on any specific person as the KMT accused," Chang said after a campaign activity held by the DPP yesterday morning.

"In fact, the KMT possessed such [assets] as far back as 50 years ago, before Lee became chairman," Chang said.

"We are actually targeting the issue itself, not any specific figure," he added.

Chang said that the DPP government was not a "bandit government" or attempting to "purge" the KMT.

"The DPP has been raising this issue since we were an opposition party and now we are just doing what we said we would do," Chang said.

Property rights

He said that the DPP's actions were intended to protect the property rights of the people, which adhered to the principle of justice.

He also said that the former communist parties of Eastern European nations had returned ill-gotten assets after communism collapsed in the 1990s.

In addition to legal action, the Cabinet approved on Tuesday draft amendments to the Disposition of Assets Improperly Obtained by Political Parties Law, seeking to deter the KMT from disposing of its assets.

Pop loyalties are disgusting

The latest issue of the China Times Weekly reported that Warner Music Taiwan allegedly suggested pop singer Chang Hui-mei , also known as A-mei , take a year off due to the poor sales of her new album, Maybe Tomorrow. The record company immediately denied the rumor. But the report nonetheless unleashed a flood of ridicule from some local "netizens" who support the green camp, saying that the rumored suspension was in fact her punishment for "embracing China's lam pa" ("testicles" in Taiwanese).

Hoping to get around China's boycott, Chang indirectly expressed regret for singing Taiwan's national anthem during President Chen Shui-bian's 2000 inauguration ceremony. The pop singer also said that she was just doing what her record company told her to do.

It is a unique phenomenon that local singers are purposely distancing themselves from the government to expand their exposure in the foreign market. During the days of Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) rule, Taiwan's entertainers usually made every effort to curry favor in order to gain benefits from those in power. Political events were the best channel for them to gain access to political resources. The late singer Teresa Teng serves as a good example. Her sweet voice not only captured the hearts of countless soldiers on the front line, it also conquered China. The superstar had numerous fans on the other side of the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese people even compared her to their former leader Deng Xiaoping, calling the latter the "older Deng," and the former the "younger Teng."

Teng was a darling of the KMT authorities for her performances for the troops and national celebrations. Her close cooperation with the powerful also won her generous government assistance and earned her the title of "the military's sweetheart." She was also a model "patriotic entertainer."

Teng was a second-generation Mainlander from Hebei Province. When cross-strait relations began to thaw in the 1990s, rumor has it that the Chinese government invited her to sing in China -- an offer she refused due to her personal political beliefs. Depriving her fans in China the chance to see her perform was a conscious decision to ignore the growing China market.

But that was then, and this is now. These days, major and minor musicians and entertainers view the Democratic Progressive Party as a curse which they can't do enough to avoid. Their greatest fear is that any taint of association will deny them the yellow brick road to riches offered by China.

There was an absence of entertainers at the Double Ten National Day celebrations. Both Jay Chou and Jolin Tsai rejected invitations by the event's organizers. At a recent concert in China, singer Luo Da-you, a singer now well past his prime, said that he came from "Chinese Taipei," hoping his sycophantic behavior would win recognition in China.

Luo should not seek to revive his fading career in China. He is no longer popular in Taiwan, so why should the people of China spend money to watch his shows? Our experience has shown that incidents such as these only strengthen the growth of Taiwanese consciousness. Every time Beijing chuckles with delight over the ridiculous antics of Taiwanese performers, the people here realize that theirs is the laughter of a foreign regime.

This dynamic gives us further assurances of a green camp victory in December's legislative elections. The absurd performances put on by Beijing -- with the help of some Taiwanese performers -- disgust the Taiwanese people.