Pelosi travels to India to meet with Dalai Lama
　

SHOT: China for the first time acknowledged that security forces had opened fire on protesters but said that 13 deaths were all caused by Tibetan mobs

AFP AND AP, BEIJING AND WASHINGTON
Saturday, Mar 22, 2008, Page 1

US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi had harsh words for China as she met the Dalai Lama in India.

"The situation in Tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world," said Pelosi, who was greeted by thousands of flag-waving Tibetan exiles as she arrived in Dharamsala yesterday for talks with Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.

"What is happening, the world needs to know," she said.

China stepped up its pressure on Tibetan protesters yesterday, releasing photos of wanted suspects who were captured on film in the worst rioting against Chinese rule in Tibet in nearly 20 years.

But with security forces pouring into Tibet and other Tibetan-populated areas of China, rights groups and activists warned of mass arrests and the possible torture of those taken into custody.

Faced with international concern over its handling of the unrest that erupted last week against Chinese rule in Tibet, state media acknowledged for the first time that police had fired on protesters.

After days of official statements that no lethal force had been used to quash the unrest, which has left an unknown number dead, state news agency Xinhua reported late on Thursday that four people had been shot and wounded.

It said police shot the four in Sichuan Province in "self-defense."

Pro-Tibet groups poured scorn on the report.

"At this point any statement the Chinese government puts out has virtually no credibility," said Lhadon Tethong from Students for a Free Tibet.

Officially, China has indicated that 13 people were killed in the rioting that broke out in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, and spread to other areas. The victims, it said, were all innocent civilians killed by Tibetan "mobs."

But the Tibetan exile government of the Dalai Lama based in Dharamsala said it has confirmed 99 people were killed in the Chinese crackdown.

China yesterday released a most-wanted list of 19 people caught on film taking part in the Lhasa riots, amid warnings by activist groups of harsh reprisals.

The photos, which appeared on top Web sites such as yahoo.com and sina.com, were from grainy footage taken during the unrest.

The state-controlled Tibet Daily later said two of the 19 alleged perpetrators had already been taken into custody.

The unrest has come at a sensitive time for China's rulers, with the Beijing Olympics fewer than five months away.

The US State Department is advising Americans planning to attend the Olympic Games in China to be mindful that they could be under surveillance.

"All hotel rooms and offices are considered to be subject to onsite or remote technical monitoring at all times," the department's Bureau of Consular Affairs advised on Thursday. "Hotel rooms, residences and offices may be accessed at any time without the occupant's consent or knowledge."

Americans with dual Chinese citizenship were counseled to travel on their US passport so that the US consular affairs office can help them if they are arrested or detained by local authorities for any reason.

EU parliamentarians lend support to Taiwan UN bid
　

By Jenny W. Hsu
STAFF REPORTER, WITH CNA, BRUSSELS
Saturday, Mar 22, 2008, Page 1

One hundred EU parliamentarians have once again voiced their support for Taiwan's bid to join the UN as a full member.

The parliamentarians issued a joint statement in favor of Taiwan's UN bid that was carried in the weekly European Voice on Wednesday.

Taiwan will hold two referendums today, alongside the presidential election. A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-initiated referendum will ask voters whether Taiwan should rejoin the UN under the name of its official title, the Republic of China, or any other "practical" name, while a Democratic Progressive Party-proposed referendum calls for joining the UN under the name "Taiwan."

The EU lawmakers said that Taiwan is a sovereign state and a full-fledged democracy that has never been ruled by the People's Republic of China.

They said they have demanded in a number of resolutions EU support of Taiwan's UN bid, pointing out that the people of Taiwan deserve "better representation" globally, as the country is represented in only a few important international organizations such as the WTO, APEC and the Asian Development Bank.

Noting that Taiwan has a fully developed economy and has made commendable contributions to the international community, the lawmakers called for EU member countries, as well as UN member countries, to "seriously" consider Taiwan's bids to join the UN.

The parliamentarians included Edward McMillan-Scott, vice president of the European Parliament, Georg Jarzembowski, chairman of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group; and Graham Watson, leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament.

Meanwhile, in Taipei yesterday, Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher told a press conference that the people of Taiwan should fully participate in today's election and not be intimidated by threats unleashed by a "rogue nation."

Rohrabacher, a staunch supporter of Taiwan in Washington who co-chairs the Taiwan Caucus, is part of the US delegation to observe the election and the referendums today.

Rohrabacher stressed that his statements only reflect his personal view and do not represent that of the US government. He also made it clear that he does not endorse any particular candidate because "the decision must only be made by the Taiwanese people."

Rohrabacher answered with a resolute "yes" when asked by the Taipei Times at the press conference if he believed recent statements by US Secretary of State Condelezza Rice and Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte chastising the referendum for applying for UN membership under the name "Taiwan" as "provocative," and "unhelpful" had crossed the line for a foreign spectator.

He went on to say he believes Taiwan has a "legitimate government," more so than China where free elections do not exist, and deserves to have a UN seat.

After four free and fair elections, Taiwan should not and will not be intimidated by a "tyrannical regime" because allowing this to happen would only embolden the oppressors, he said.

Taiwan's "shining democracy," he said, serves as an example in the region, including to people in China.

Calling the Beijing Games an "Olympic fraud," the congressman slammed China for using the games to disguise its human rights abuses in Tibet and against Falun Gong practitioners, and its persistent oppression of Taiwan.

Rohrabacher was one of the nine congressional members who wrote a letter urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to put a vote to the floor on boycotting the Games in August due to China's recent bloody crackdown on Tibetan protesters in Lhasa.

President calls on public to accept election results
　

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION: The president said his only mission after the election today is to hand over power in May and expressed his hope for a smooth transition
　

By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Mar 22, 2008, Page 3

"I believe the transfer of power will go smoothly and in accordance with the law."－President Chen Shui-bian

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday urged the public to accept today's election result, saying he did not want to see a repeat of the election dispute that marred the presidential contest four years ago.

Chen made the remarks while receiving a US delegation led by Dana Rohrabacher, co-chair of Taiwan Caucus, at the Presidential Office yesterday morning.

He was referring to his defeat of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Lien Chan (連戰) in 2004 by less than 30,000 votes, or 0.22 percent.

A day before the vote, Chen and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) were injured in a shooting incident while campaigning in Tainan. Lien's camp accused Chen of staging the event. Calling the election unfair and filled with "many unanswered questions," Lien and his running mate, People First Party Chairman James Soong, (宋楚瑜) refused to concede defeat and said they would take legal action to have the electoral results declared invalid.

Chen said he has only one important mission after the poll today and before he steps down on May 20 and that is to hand over power.

"I myself have made history," he said. "Eight years ago, the country saw the first transfer of government. Four years ago, I won the re-election and right now I am about to finish my second term. I believe the transfer of power will go smoothly and in accordance with the law."

Comparing the country's presidential election and the selection of China's national leader, Chen said Taiwan's contest is transparent and democratic, while in China, no one challenged Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), who received 99.7 percent of the vote.

That can only happen under Chinese Communist rule, he said.

It's about governance, democracy
　

By Michael Hsiao 蕭新煌
Saturday, Mar 22, 2008, Page 8

`The presidential election is more than just a choice between two candidates' policies on relations with China. It's also about better governance and consolidation of democracy.'

Voters today participate in one of the nation's most important elections since it first directly elected its president in 1996. The election will essentially decide whether this new democracy can be deepened through better governance; it will also determine if Taiwan's newfound national identity can be consolidated through the referendum to enter the UN.

Voters will decide between Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) counterpart Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who are engaged in a race that has generally tilted in Ma's favor.

In light of significant differences between major popular polls, which make it extremely difficult to ascertain the salient political fissures that will determine the result, a more qualitative look at the issues and candidate platforms may offer a better idea of what has shaped the election campaign.

Following the crushing electoral defeat of the DPP in the legislative elections in January, the KMT now controls 81 to the DPP's 27 seats in the 113-seat legislature. Hsieh, a former premier and mayor of Kaohsiung, and Ma, a former mayor of Taipei, recently took part in two high-profile televised debates to test each other's claims to the presidency. In a two-way campaign that has focused more on mudslinging than policies, the debates provided a refreshing look at the candidates.

The debates helped show voters and concerned international observers where each candidate stands on national, international and cross-strait issues, and ultimately the direction in which Taiwan will move under the next president.

In these debates three variables emerged as defining parameters of this election: national identity, national security and national economic recovery. The central issue of the three remains national identity -- the sine qua non in how cross-strait relations have evolved over the past two decades, and a reason why Taiwan's economy, job environment and trade cannot be completely separated from cross-strait relations in domestic political debate.

The two candidates, as expected, disagreed on China and national security. Although some observers argue that the central issue of this campaign is the "domestic economy," the candidates' platforms on economic development, industrial growth, employment and even higher education revealed that their respective remedial policies are directly or indirectly related to their proposed solutions for the cross-strait imbroglio.

What are the similarities and differences in the candidates' policies?

1. National identity

Hsieh's conceptualization of Taiwanese national identity is inherently linked to Taiwanese statehood. To Hsieh and the DPP, Taiwan is a sovereign state with all the qualifications necessary for an independent nation, even if it is officially recognized as the Republic of China (ROC).

According to this perspective, the civil war between the ROC and the People's Republic of China (PRC) has long ceased. Also, to a great extent, the ROC has already "Taiwanized": Taiwan is the ROC and the ROC is Taiwan. Possessing ROC nationality is equivalent to Taiwanese identity. Therefore, Taiwan's future can only be determined by its 23 million citizens. In essence, Taiwan and China do not belong to each other, nor do they represent each other.

Hsieh claims he would be flexible in negotiating with the PRC on relations between Taiwan and China. Hsieh also endorses the referendums proposed by both the DPP and the KMT on UN entry.

To Ma, the issue of Taiwanese "national" identity is more complicated and still burdened by the legacy of the civil war. In Ma's mind, only the ROC is sovereign -- not Taiwan.

At the beginning of Ma's campaign, he claimed that Taiwan is the ROC, but then, after intervention by the old guard of the KMT, he quickly qualified this statement by saying that ROC is not just Taiwan. Ma thus not only separates "Taiwan" from the "ROC," but also distinguishes the "PRC" from "China." He wants to negotiate with China on the basis of the so-called "1992 consensus," conditional on what he coined as "mutual non-denial."

In facing DPP complaints that he is too pro-China and not sufficiently pro-Taiwan, Ma hastens to state that in his term as president, he would not engage in talk of unification with the PRC.

2. National security

The candidates' positions on national security are linked to how they define national identity.

Hsieh advocates defending Taiwan's sovereignty and independence without reservation, and he singles out China as the greatest security threat, with more than 1,300 missiles targeting Taiwan. He argues that given China's military modernization, Taiwan must maintain the balance of power in the Taiwan Strait by purchasing and maintaining an adequate defense budget of at least 3 percent of GDP. He also openly supports the US-Japan Security Pact as a harbinger of peace and stability for the Asia-Pacific region.

Hsieh presents himself as a cautious moderate who would keep the balance between national security and international support. He is eager to develop better relations with the US and consolidate Taiwan's cooperation with Japan, while making an effort to establish a framework for promoting stability with China. He even advocates what he calls a "symbiotic vision for cross-strait relations" for maintaining Taiwan's security. Through this, he hopes to develop two forms of consensus between Taiwan and China: one is "no immediate pressing need to solve the differences across the Strait"; the other is "democratic procedures in reaching a possible resolution."

To Hsieh, resuming a cross-strait dialogue can release tension and make peace possible.

Ma's treatise on national security and national identity has been criticized for lacking clarity and substance, which has a lot to do with Ma's ambiguous definition of the latter. He wishes to accommodate everyone by incorporating conflicting definitions of "Taiwan" held by the KMT, the DPP and even the Chinese Communist Party -- but pleasing no one in the end.

Ma maintains that "responsible" national security for Taiwan amounts to more than safeguarding the borders; it also includes cross-strait peace, regional stability and a prosperous domestic environment.

Ma outlined his "SMART" strategy for national security in a speech on Feb. 26 to the Association for the Promotion of National Security. He identified four pillars in Taiwan's national security: the soft power of economic globalization; military deterrence through a defensive capability; ensuring the status quo through a "three noes policy" -- no negotiations on unification, no pursuit of de jure independence and no cross-strait use of military force, along with the acceptance of the "1992 consensus" ("one China" with different interpretations); and restoring mutual trust and military cooperation with the US, mending relations with ASEAN, Japan and Korea and being a "peacemaking" member of the international community.

3. Economic ties with China

Hsieh and Ma share the view that Taiwan's economic development depends on further globalization of Taiwanese industry. Their approach differs, however.

Ma argues that a comprehensive connection with China is the single most important remedy and that developing a "cross-strait common market" is Taiwan's lifeline to remain globally competitive. Hsieh is more concerned with increasing economic pressure on Taiwanese industry resulting from China's rise, and therefore maintains that a gradual relaxation and opening of economic links with China better protects Taiwan's interests. He has raised the threat of unemployment, soaring real estate prices and reduced competitiveness of agricultural and manufacturing products once capital, labor and goods from China enter the Taiwanese market unfettered.

Ma advocates immediate direct air links between Taiwan and China, starting with weekend chartered flights, an expanded "small three links" program through which Taiwanese can travel to China, and finally regular cross-strait direct flights within a year. He welcomes Chinese capital in Taiwan's real estate market, cheaper labor, medical caretakers, agricultural commodities and Chinese tourists and supported recognition of Chinese university credentials for local matriculation. However, these policies were not accompanied by regulatory precautions, which made Ma an easy target for Hsieh's camp.

Hsieh said possible negative consequences of Ma's "one China" market model could include: increased unemployment among the working class; a reduction in the quality of medical services; a detrimental impact on the higher education market and increasing unemployment among teachers; the undermining of civil servant examinations; erosion of loyalty to Taiwan in government officials; and endangering consumer health and safety because of increased exposure to Chinese goods.

In response to these criticisms, Ma corrected his model and proposed another policy, the "three noes" platform: no Chinese agricultural products, no Chinese labor and no imports of "black-hearted" (dangerous or shoddy) consumer goods from China.

Hsieh, on the other hand, opts for relaxing the cap on Taiwanese business investment in China; expanding selected cross-strait charter flights; gradually opening Taiwan to Chinese tourists; and permitting Chinese investment in Taiwan's office building market, but prohibiting such investment in the residential market.

When the Hsieh camp challenged Ma's common market model, concerns were quickly raised among the different classes whose interests may suffer from unregulated entry of professionals, workers and agricultural products. Criticism and protests from middle class professional associations joined the concerns of workers and farmers after the second televised debate.

The presidential election is more than just a choice between two candidates' policies on relations with China. It's also about better governance and consolidation of democracy. In this regard, Hsieh and Ma have offered different directions for the future.

Will Hsieh's graded approach to China -- a function of a clearly defined national identity -- be more palatable with voters?

Or will Ma's simultaneous embrace of China's economic rise and distancing from its politics, combined with ambiguity on national identity, prove a better option for Taiwanese?

Michael Hsiao is executive director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Area Studies at Academia Sinica. A different version of this article appeared in this month's edition of China Brief.