Taiwan takes to streets in huge rallies
　

LOUD AND CLEAR: Hundreds of thousands of people gathered at campaign events, with the DPP candidate speaking in Taipei and the KMT's candidate in Tainan
　

By Ko Shu-ling and Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTERS, IN TAIPEI AND TAINAN
Monday, Mar 17, 2008, Page 1
　

Senior members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) led their supporters in giant rallies across the country yesterday, canvassing votes on Super Sunday for their respective presidential tickets as the election race entered its final week.

The DPP marked the anniversary of Beijing's "Anti-Secession" Law, which was on Friday, with a motorcade, including a truck carrying a giant golden index finger pointing to the sky and an 8m-tall wooden "Trojan horse."

The motorcade for DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and his running mate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) included the Trojan horse as a symbol of the dangers posed by the "cross-strait common market" proposed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), the DPP said.

If such a market were to be established, Hsieh said "men would not be able to find a job," "women would not be able to find a husband" and "soldiers would do their military service in Heilongjiang" in China.
　

Tens of thousands of DPP supporters gathered at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall to launch the rally, chanting "Taiwan, jiayou," an expression of encouragement, and "Frank Hsieh for president."

The DPP called the rally "1 million people high-five, come-back win."

Hsieh urged the public to unite to "protect your rice bowls by opposing the `one China' market" and "check power by opposing one-party rule."

The public needs to work together to "join the UN and oppose Chinese dictatorship," he said.
　

Hsieh also called on Ma to offer a clear account of why he had once said the future of the nation should be decided by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but now says otherwise.

"I want to know what he means. China has 1.3 billion people and Taiwan has 23 million. How can they make a joint decision?" he said. "If Taiwan's future is jointly decided by both sides of the Strait, we will end up like Tibet. We must stop Ma's ridiculous proposition."

　

To mark the anniversary of China's "Anti-Secession" Law, which was enacted on March 14, 2005, DPP supporters gathered at 300 points across the country at 3:14pm, giving each other high-fives and wearing baseball caps backwards.

While Hsieh attended the rally in Taipei, Su attended a rally in Banciao (板橋), Taipei County, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) was in Taoyuan County to lead supporters, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) was in Taichung City, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was in Tainan County, Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) was in Kaohsiung and former DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun was in Ilan County. Hundreds of thousands of supporters rallied nationwide.

　

In a speech at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Hsieh said he was opposed to the "one China market" and urged the KMT to immediately abandon the platform.

If elected, Hsieh promised to put the interests of the nation and the public first and to fight for the nation's security and dignity.

One supporter from the US, who gave his last name as Herbert and has lived here for seven years with his Taiwanese wife, said that he backed Hsieh although he could not vote.

　

"If he loses, I'm going to go back to America. I believe Taiwan will become part of China," he said. "I want to stay here for the rest of my life."

Stefan Braig, a researcher from Germany studying Taiwanese politics, said he had visited a rally for Ma before attending the DPP's. He said that he was attending the rallies to witness the development of democracy.


At the rally with her husband and two pet dogs, Wang Yueh-chao (王月昭), 54, said that she was worried that Taiwan would eventually face unification with China if Ma won and that an influx of Chinese workers would destroy the economy.

After giving high-fives to supporters at the memorial hall, Hsieh continued in a bullet-proof vehicle to Banciao, where joined his running mate.

Su and Hsieh led the crowd as they bowed in unison in the direction of Yushan in a show of respect for the land and its people.

Early yesterday morning, Hsieh was in Taimali Township (太麻里), Taitung County, to welcome the sunrise over Taiwan.

Hsieh promised, if elected, to improve the political culture and economy and to deal with societal problems.

Hsieh said that he would see a "new economy" that involves more than the blind pursuit of economic growth.

He said he would seek continued economic growth in combination with prosperity for all social classes, fair allocation of resources and sustainable development.

He said he would work for "new politics" without infighting and create a situation in which political parties cooperate with each other.

The DPP finished off its campaign activities yesterday with a rally in Taichung last night.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of KMT supporters took to the streets yesterday at rallies across the country to voice their support for Ma and his running mate Vicent Siew (蕭萬長).

Chanting "On March 22, vote for No. 2!" and flashing the "V" for victory sign, the supporters took to the streets in all 25 cities and counties simultaneously at 3:22pm.

Ma led more than 20,000 supporters at a rally in Tainan County, the home of Chen and a traditional pan-green bastion, pledging to be an "active" president if elected on Saturday.

"For the past eight years, Taiwan has either been stuck at the same place or gone backward. Taiwanese people need an active president," Ma told the crowd. "We can't afford to continue going backward. We need to stride forward."

At 3:19pm, Ma led the crowd in reversing their hats and putting their hands on their stomachs to show their digust with the DPP administration and corruption scandals, and the state of the economy.

Supporters joined Ma in chanting "Taiwan progresses, Taiwan wins," and began a one-hour march around veterans' communities in Yongkang (永康), Tainan County.

Waving campaign flags for Ma, local resident Chu Shao-cheng (朱紹誠) said he supported the KMT because he believed Ma could improve the economy.

College student Fang Kuo-chang (方國昌) and his brother welcomed Ma and the crowd as they passed on the street and berated the DPP administration.

"It's hard for college graduates to find jobs now. We think it's time for a change and we believe that Ma will make our lives better," Fang said.

Ma was joined later by KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) and former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) in Taipei via a live video feed. At 5:20pm, supporters pushed a giant ball onto the stage with a picture of Ma running, symbolizing their hope that Ma would win the election and enter the Presidential Office on May 20, inauguration day.

Wu and Lien yesterday led the rally in Taipei City, which began in front of the Songshan Tobacco Factory and ended at Ketagalan Boulevard, while KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) led a rally in Taichung and Siew solicited support in Kaohsiung.

Ma's wife Chow Mei-ching (周美青) campaigned for Ma in Chiayi.

Ma participated in 17 campaign events in Tainan County. Before attending the evening rally, he met with the Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) Tainan City branch head, Tsu Chian-ming (褚顯名), who later endorsed Ma.

"The TSU and the KMT share different ideologies, but we both strived for government integrity and a better economy," Ma said.

Ma also promised to consider non-KMT members when appointing ministers in the Control Yuan, Examination Yuan and Judicial Yuan if elected on Saturday.

Tsu declined, however, to confirm whether TSU spiritual leader Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) had approved his meeting with Ma.

The National Police Agency said more than 30,000 police officers were mobilized across the country to ensure that the DPP and KMT rallies were peaceful.

In related news, Ministry of Education Secretary-General Chuang Kuo-jung (莊國榮) submitted his resignation last night because of remarks he made at a DPP rally yesterday morning insinuating Ma's father, Ma Ho-ling (馬鶴凌), had affairs with several women.

Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) approved Chuang's resignation, the Central News Agency reported.

Dalai Lama condemns China as protests spread

AFP, BEIJING
Monday, Mar 17, 2008, Page 1

"Whether intentionally or unintentionally, some cultural genocide is taking place. They simply rely on using force in order to simulate peace -- a peace brought by force using a rule of terror."－the Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader in exile

Tibetan spiritual leader in exile the Dalai Lama condemned a "rule of terror" in his native Tibet yesterday as Chinese forces blanketed the region's capital in security and pro-independence protests spread elsewhere in China.

A fresh protest in Sichuan Province reportedly left at least seven people dead in a dangerous escalation of the uprising by Tibetans against China's rule of the vast Himalayan region.

The violence has left at least 80 people dead, according to Tibet's government-in-exile, although the official death toll in China's state-run media remained at 10.

The unrest is a huge domestic crisis for China as it tries to present a peaceful image ahead of the Beijing Olympics, but it nevertheless vowed on yesterday to wage a "people's war" against the influence of the exiled Dalai Lama.

Speaking from his base in Dharamsala, India, the revered Buddhist spiritual leader launched a scathing criticism of China's 57-year rule of Tibet and called for an international probe into the unrest.

"Whether intentionally or unintentionally, some cultural genocide is taking place," the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner told reporters. "They simply rely on using force in order to simulate peace -- a peace brought by force using a rule of terror."

"Please investigate, if possible ... some international organization can try firstly to inquire about the situation in Tibet," said.

In the protest in Sichuan, at least seven people were killed when police shot at hundreds of rioting Tibetans in the town of Ngawa, a resident and two activist groups with contacts there said.

This followed two consecutive days of protest at the Labrang monastery in Gansu Province, which like Sichuan has a large ethnic Tibetan population.

Meanwhile, foreigners in Lhasa reported a massive security presence still in place, as Hong Kong TV footage showed heavily armed security forces patrolling the city.

Despite official Chinese claims of calm in Lhasa, foreigners who flew out of the city reported hearing repeated gunfire on Saturday.

"I heard muffled gunshot fire. There was no question about it," one tourist, Gerald Flint, a former US Marine who runs a medical non-governmental organization, told reporters at Chengdu airport in Sichuan.

Flint said security forces poured into Lhasa on Saturday but there was still "chaos" on the streets.

The worst reported violence occurred on Friday, when Tibetans rampaged through Lhasa, destroying Chinese businesses and torching police cars.

Despite being under intense international pressure to show restraint, Beijing indicated it was in no mood to compromise. It has set a deadline of midnight tonight for those involved in the demonstrations to surrender.

Colonialism in Taiwan

Monday, Mar 17, 2008, Page 8

For many Taiwanese, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime was another unfriendly foreign colonial power.

When President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected in 2000, the people of Taiwan celebrated a major breakthrough in their struggle for democracy. Unfortunately,Taiwan's democracy has been sabotaged by the KMT.

Despite the election of a DPP administration, the KMT has been able to control the schools, local governments and military with unfair distribution of governmental funds and privileges.

The guaranteed 18 percent interest offered specifically to those privileged groups is just one of the many examples.

Such undemocratic tactics have been supported by the KMT-dominated legislature, judiciary and the media. The resounding defeat of the DPP in the January legislative election attests to the KMT's continued influence.

Nonetheless, Taiwan's democracy has been able to prevent the KMT from perpetrating its autocracy. Therefore, the party is now cooperating with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and advocates eventual unification with China.

Taiwanese should be alert to not only the rising political power of the KMT, which might lead to a resurrection of the old autocracy, but also to the possibility of annexation by China, the colonial rule of which would be worse than that of the past KMT regime or Japan.

Both the KMT and CCP have made a show of becoming more democratic to deflect criticisms of their autocracy and rampant corruption.

The inability of the KMT and CCP to embrace democracy is deeply rooted in Chinese culture, which instills the virtue of citizens' loyalty to the rulers but grossly neglects the fact that the citizens are the masters of the government -- the fundamental principle of modern civilized governance.

The KMT's autocracy and undemocratic disregard of law and order is largely responsible for the recurrent political turmoil in Taiwan since World War II. It is most ironic that media biased in favor of the KMT and CCP have shaped domestic and international opinions that have been detrimental to the democratic development.

The public has been misled to believe that the KMT and CCP are the salvation of Taiwan and China.

While China repeatedly condemns past colonial occupations by foreign powers, it practices the same old colonialism by occupying Tibet with force and repression. It also intends to invade Taiwan against the will of the Taiwanese.

The expectation that China will become a democracy might be the underlying motivation of foreign investors. Unfortunately, China's population is so misled by a biased media that China's democratization is impossible for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, the country is a security threat to not only Taiwan, but the entire world.

On March 22, the people of Taiwan must use their votes to reject the undemocratic KMT, and send an unequivocal signal to China that a Tibet-style colonial occupation of Taiwan is not acceptable.

Samuel Yang
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Choosing Taiwan's future


Monday, Mar 17, 2008, Page 8

As a long-time resident in Taiwan and someone with the bad experience of living for 24 years under communist rule in East Germany, I want to say: Wake up, Taiwanese. Wake up now as you are going to choose where Taiwan will go in future. The tragic events in Tibet should make it clear for everyone what will happen if China rules Taiwan and if the KMT returns to power in Taiwan.

A return to KMT rule in Taiwan will lead to China ruling Taiwan someday, and all the hard earned achievements of developing a democracy will be gone forever.

Making the right choice on Saturday is essential. Never before in history have people had such a big responsibility as they do with the presidential election in Taiwan.

Taiwanese will choose the way their country will go. You will not get a second chance. Take it and protect Taiwan.

Our thoughts are with the upright people in Tibet, and we should encourage them. If the Taiwanese choose correctly on Saturday they will ensure that China's war against independence, freedom and democracy will not happen here.

Andreas Forster
Sanjhih

No surprises in Tibet

Monday, Mar 17, 2008, Page 8

The Chinese crackdown in Tibet confirms that this "autonomous" region is anything but autonomous and that China's "peaceful rise" is less than peaceful. Not surprising from a government whose actions often speak in marked contrast to its rhetoric.

Tibetans deserve basic rights, and Chinese repression will ultimately not withstand the light of the international community.

William Cooper
Richmond, Virginia

Ma is on the wrong side of history
　

By Gerrit van der Wees
Monday, Mar 17, 2008, Page 8

As Taiwan prepares for the presidential election, the people face a choice for their future. This goes beyond a choice for the next four years: It is more than a continuation of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government under the new leadership of Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), or a return to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) under new leadership, that of Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

The choice between the two men also harbors longer-term consequences for the future of the country: continuation of the trend towards increasing emphasis on Taiwan's own identity and treatment of Taiwan as a nation-state in its own right, or closer ties with Beijing, eventually drifting towards absorption by China in one way or another.

Hsieh is an advocate of the former line: Building on the legacy of the fight for democracy in the 1970s and 1980s, and the consolidation of democracy under former president Lee Teng-hui and President Chen Shui-bian(陳水扁), he will carefully maneuver to safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty and expand its international position, while attempting to keep China at bay.

Ma is an advocate of eventual unification, but realizes that he cannot move too swiftly since this would anger the Taiwanese majority and make the US and Japan -- already apprehensive about China's military buildup -- increasingly nervous, so he will emphasize the "status quo" while gradually pushing the envelope toward closer ties with China.

How will they perform if they are elected? How will they stand up to pressure from China -- or from the US for that matter? Are they committed to democracy?

To get a glimpse into their character, it is useful to examine how they acted and reacted in an earlier era: when Taiwan was suffering under martial law in the 1970s and 1980s, and when they rose to prominence, each in his own right.

Both Hsieh and Ma were educated to be lawyers. But there the similarity ends.

Hsieh is a native Taiwanese, who became well-known in Taiwan in 1980, when -- together with a number of other lawyers including Chen -- he voluntarily took up the defense of eight prominent leaders of the tangwai (outside-the-party) democracy movement (including Vice President Annette Lu [呂秀蓮] and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu [陳菊]), who had been arrested and imprisoned by the KMT regime on spurious political charges.

Hsieh was thus willing to stick his neck out and stand up for justice when it counted -- and when few others dared to do so. In the 1980s he became a member of the Taipei City Council, and later was elected to the Legislative Yuan. He was a founding member of the DPP in 1986. Ten years later, in 1996, he was the DPP's vice presidential candidate in Taiwan's first-ever democratic presidential elections (together with Peng Ming-min), but lost to Lee.

Ma, on the other hand, is a Mainlander, who was born in Hong Kong and whose parents came over to Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石). His father was a high-ranking KMT official, and young Ma grew up in the political elite of the Chinese Nationalists. In the 1970s he went to Harvard for his graduate studies, but several of his Taiwanese fellow students complained that Ma was a "student spy" who collected data for the secret police in Taiwan.

After his return to Taiwan In 1981, he quickly rose to prominence within the KMT. He started as an aide and personal translator for then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), and in 1984 became deputy-secretary general of the KMT. In 1993 he was appointed minister of justice by Lee and served in that position until 1996.

Let us examine what his position was during the crucial moments in Taiwan's transition to democracy: In 1985-1986, when Taiwan was still under martial law, he was an ardent defender of martial law, arguing that it enhanced "stability" on the island. He also defended the long prison sentences given to proponents of democracy and human rights.

In lengthy letters to foreign governments and political parties which expressed concern about the lack of democracy in Taiwan, Ma waxed eloquently in defense of the indefensible.

Finally, after many hearings and resolutions in the US Congress by senators such as Ted Kennedy and Claiborne Pell and representatives Jim Leach and Steven Solarz, and after increasing pressure from the bottom up in Taiwan, Chiang Ching-kuo relented and lifted martial law in 1987. Ma had been on the wrong side of history.

Almost the same thing happened in 1991 and 1992, when the democratic movement started to push for abolishment of the "eternal" legislators who had been elected in China in 1947, and who were in their 80s and 90s still representing "China" in the legislature and National Assembly. Again, Ma came out against such changes and wanted to maintain a semblance of "China" representation in the legislature.

Fortunately, Lee had vision and pushed through the legislative reforms. Again, Ma was on the wrong side of history.

Fascinatingly, three years later, the same pattern occurred: Lee started to push for direct presidential elections -- to replace the anachronistic system in which the KMT-controlled National Assembly had rubberstamped the KMT choice for president.

Ma was one of the KMT opponents of this move toward full-fledged democracy. Again, his instincts had been to preserve an outdated status quo, and oppose democratic change.

Ma was a follower, who went along with developments when they became inevitable, while Hsieh stood up when it counted, and defended his principles.

The choice for the people of Taiwan is thus between someone who has opposed democratic change, and wants to edge closer to a repressive, undemocratic China, and someone who has been at the forefront of democratic change, and wants to propel Taiwan forwards in the international family of nations.

It will be a decisive moment in Taiwan's history.

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

Bjork's call for Tibetan independence draws China's ire

Monday, Mar 17, 2008,Page 15

　

China said it planned stricter controls of foreign performers after Icelandic pop singer Bjork backed independence for Tibet during a concert in Shanghai.

"From now on we will tighten controls on foreign artists performing in China to prevent similar incidents from happening again," the Ministry of Culture said.

In her concert earlier this month, Bjork cried, "Tibet, Tibet!" followed by "Raise your flag!" toward the end of her final song, Declare Independence.

Her protest apparently went unnoticed by the majority of an estimated 3,000 people at the Shanghai International Gymnastics Centre.

But in a statement posted on its Web site, the ministry said that Bjork's call "broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people's feelings."

The statement said Bjork had "deliberately turned a commercial show into a political performance" and that China would "no longer welcome any artists who deliberately do this."

At a similar concert in Tokyo last week, Bjork dedicated her performance of Declare Independence to supporting Kosovo's declaration of independence.

That statement led organizers of a Serbian music festival planned for July to drop her from the lineup.

Her Shanghai protest came as several Tibetan independence groups are running campaigns to promote their cause ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August.

Most Tibetans support calls by the exiled Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's highest leader, for greater autonomy for Tibet within China, and many still favor independence.

The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after an unsuccessful uprising against the occupation of Tibet by Chinese troops since 1951. He remains as popular as ever among ordinary Tibetans. (DPA)