Siew meets Powell as Chen pans trip
　

BEIJING'S DISTRACTION: Vincent Siew met with the former US secretary of state as President Chen slammed his visit as a ploy by China to divert attention away from Tibet
　

By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER, WITH AGENCIES
Monday, Apr 14, 2008, Page 1

"Don't be naive and don't harbor any fantasies over China." — President Chen Shui-bian

Vice President-elect Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) met with former US secretary of state Colin Powell for a brief talk yesterday on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia, which opened in the southern Chinese resort city the previous day.

Powell met Siew for about 20 minutes. After the meeting, Powell praised Siew’s landmark meeting on Saturday with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), saying it was “very good news for the region.”

“The two sides have begun down a new path ... I think we are at the beginning of a new phase in relations between the parties in Asia,” Powell told reporters. “I hope it’s a path that leads to greater cross-strait activity. I hope it’s a path that leads to new areas of cooperation.”

He said that Siew had been a friend for years, adding that he had also offered his congratulations to president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Siew on their election victory on March 22. Ma and Siew will assume office on May 20.

Siew, meanwhile, said the former top US diplomat had stressed the regional implications of a thaw in the relationship between China and Taiwan.

“[He] hopes this will not only help to bring peace and stability to the relationship between Taiwan and China, but also contribute to security and peace in the entire region,” Siew said.

Siew told the reporters that he had extended an invitation, on behalf of Ma, to Powell to attend their inauguration.

Powell had replied that “he would love to attend the inauguration ceremony, time permitting,” Siew said.

Siew said Powell had visited Taiwan before and that he had a great impression of the country, adding that Powell said he valued their friendship and would like to visit Taiwan again to meet with him.

Siew said that he wrote a preface for the Chinese version of Powell’s autobiography that was published several years ago.

Meanwhile, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday criticized Siew’s last-minute participation at Boao, saying it was arranged by Beijing to divert international attention from its violent crackdown in Tibet.

Chen said that Beijing used the same tactic on March 14, 2005, when it passed its “Anti-Secession” Law.

To divert the international community’s attention from the law, Beijing invited then Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) for a visit, Chen said.

Three years later, Beijing was once again under pressure after its bloody crackdown on Tibetans protesting the Chinese invasion 49 years ago, he said. To divert the international community’s attention, Beijing had asked Siew to attend this year’s Boao Forum, even though registration for the event was already closed, Chen said.

While some Chinese-language newspapers have described the treatment Siew received as that befitting a national leader, Chen said that he thought such a description was “funny” because there was no red carpet or military honors, not to mention the seating arrangements, which saw Siew seated next to Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) and Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho (何厚鏵).

Rather than pay attention to the meeting between Hu and Siew, Chen asked the public to study the remarks Hu made during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Hu said that the conflict between the Chinese government and “the Dalai clique is not an ethnic problem, not a religious problem, nor a human rights problem” but “a problem of either safeguarding national unification or splitting the motherland.”

Despite the peace agreement signed by Tibet and China, Beijing still responded to Tibetan protests with a crackdown.

Chen said he was afraid that the peace treaty president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was proposing to sign with Beijing would be nothing but “a piece of toilet paper that could easily be discarded.”

Chen criticized Ma for being “immoral and irresponsible” and accused him of cheating himself, the Taiwanese and the rest of the world over the so-called “1992 consensus,” which the president said did not exist.

Chen said that he did not believe Beijing would allow Ma or Siew to attend this year’s APEC summit in Peru, despite their pro-China rhetoric.

“Don’t be naive and don’t harbor any fantasies over China,” he said.

The Boao Forum might help ease cross-strait tensions a little, Chen said, but it was too early to tell whether China would recognize “one China with each side having its own interpretation” or give Taiwan more international space when the KMT resumes power.

Neither the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) nor Hu can decide the future of Taiwan, Chen said, because Taiwan is a sovereign nation and independent from the People’s Republic of China. Only the 23 million people of Taiwan have the final say on the country’s future, he said.

He said he believed the people of Taiwan would not accept the “one country, two systems” model, nor would they agree to be ruled by the CCP.

Although Taiwan is an independent sovereignty, it is not a completely normal nation, Chen said. The country must strive to gain membership of the UN and the WHO to become a normal country. Taiwan must also write a new constitution that viable and relevant to its needs, he said.

Meanwhile, former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday urged Siew to maintain the nation’s dignity and strive for equal treatment during the Boao Forum.

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday that the meeting between Siew and Hu had helped to reduce cross-strait tensions that had been heightened by the UN referendum proposals during the presidential election.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) acting caucus whip Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) welcomed the meeting between Siew and Hu, adding that although the KMT caucus would not be able to determine the tone of Siew’s participation at Boao until the vice-president elect returns to Taiwan, it views the Hu-Siew meeting as an historic event that would significantly contribute to the development of cross-strait relations.

Media 'demonizes' China, Beijing's UK envoy says
　

GULF IN UNDERSTANDING: Fu Ying said that the 'violent' demonstrators in London who tried to grab the Olympic torch were 'misinformed' about the situation in Tibet

AFP, LONDON
Monday, Apr 14, 2008, Page 1
　

China’s ambassador to Britain said yesterday that the protests against the Olympic torch relay illustrated a growing gulf in understanding between China and the West.

Fu Ying (傅瑩), writing in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, hit out at the “violent” British demonstrators who tried to grab the torch on its chaotic passage through London this month and accused the Western media of “demonizing” her country.

“Standing in the middle, I am concerned that mutual perceptions between the people of China and the West are quickly drifting in opposite directions,” she wrote. “I cannot help asking why, when it comes to China, the generalized accusations can easily be accepted without people questioning what exactly and specifically they mean; why any story or figures can stay on the news for days without factual support.”

MISINFORMED

The ambassador said the demonstrators who disrupted the relay in protest over China’s crackdown in Tibet were misinformed.

“Of those who protested loudly, many probably have not seen Tibet. For the Chinese people, Tibet is a loved land and information about it is ample. Four million tourists visit Tibet every year,” she wrote. “There may be complicated problems of religion mixing with politics [in Tibet], but people are well-fed, well-clothed and well-housed.”

She said protests against the torch run had prompted younger Chinese to “begin a collective rethinking about the West.”

“Many who had romantic views about the West are very disappointed at the media’s attempt to demonize China,” Fu wrote.

She said the world’s media should make more of an effort to understand China and she called on Western journalists operating there to show more “respect,” although she said media wishing to report “bad stories” would not be stopped.

UNDERSTANDING

“The world has waited for China to join it. Now China has to have the patience to wait for the world to understand China,” she wrote.

The Olympic torch arrived on Saturday in Tanzania to start a drastically curtailed African leg after the early stages in London and Paris were hit by protests and the third stage in San Francisco was shortened at the last minute.

Siew satisfied with China visit
　

‘HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY’: The vice president-elect praised comments by China’s president and said the two sides should tackle economic issues first, not politics

CNA, BOAO, CHINA
Monday, Apr 14, 2008, Page 3
　

Vice president-elect Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) said late on Saturday that he was satisfied with the courteous reception that China accorded him at the Boao Forum in Hainan.

Siew made the remarks after attending a dinner hosted by Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) honoring the participants at the Boao Forum.

“I’m satisfied with all the warm hospitality and courteous treatment extended to me by forum organizers,” Siew told Taiwanese reporters in Hainan.

Siew is the nation’s first vice president-elect to set foot on Chinese soil. Although he is attending the forum in his capacity as chairman of the private Taipei-based Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation, China sent a charter plane to Hong Kong to fly him and his 12-member entourage to Boao.

Siew, who will take office on May 20, said he hoped his 20-minute talk with Hu would contribute to peaceful development on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

During the meeting, Siew said he proposed that the two sides “face reality, set sights on the future, shelve disputes and pursue a win-win scenario.”

“The essence of my suggestion is that cross-strait affairs should be addressed with pragmatism and openness,” Siew said, adding that Hu had responded positively to his suggestions during their meeting.

Siew said that as he departed after the dinner, Hu told him that their meeting that afternoon had been “very meaningful.”

Describing Hu’s comments as a “historic opportunity” to improve cross-strait ties, Siew said the two sides should start by tackling economic issues and put political disputes on the back burner.

Su Chi (蘇起), a former Mainland Affairs Council chairman who was also present at the Siew-Hu meeting, portrayed the talks as “candid and friendly.”

Su said Siew brought up four requests during the talks, including the resumption of a cross-strait dialogue, normalization of bilateral trade and economic ties, weekend cross-strait charter flights and opening Taiwan to Chinese tourists.

“My observation is that cross-strait negotiations will resume soon and weekend cross-strait charter flights could take off in early July,” Su said.

Monks seized for bombing in Tibet
　

CONFESSIONS?: Six of the monks were detained for planting a bomb. News of the arrests comes after Beijing labeled a group linked to Tibet’s government-in-exile a `terrorist’ group

AP AND AFP, BEIJING
Monday, Apr 14, 2008, Page 4

Cewang Yexe ... brought a homemade bomb to the site on a motorcycle and moved it into the office building with the help of others.

Xinhua news agency
China has arrested nine Tibetan Buddhist monks accused of involvement in a bomb attack on a government building in Tibet, an official said yesterday.

The monks from the Tongxia monastery in eastern Tibet fled after the homemade bomb exploded at the building in Gyanbe Township on March 23, and they later confessed to planting the explosive, Xinhua news agency said late on Saturday.

A local official confirmed the monks had been detained.

“Cewang Yexe, one of the suspects, brought a homemade bomb to the site on a motorcycle and moved it into the office building with the help of others. They detonated the bomb and ran away,” the late on Saturday report said.

Xinhua named Rinqen Jamcan, 27, a “ranking monk” at the monastery, as ringleader. All the suspects have confessed, it said.

Xinhua did not explain why the alleged incident was not reported earlier, nor did it mention any casualties or damage in the blast.

The bombing report builds on Beijing’s claims that the recent Tibetan protests were part of a violent campaign by the Dalai Lama and his supporters to throw off Chinese rule in Tibet and sabotage the Beijing Olympics in August.

The bombing is the first to be reported in Tibet since the anti-China protests began March 10 in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, turning violent four days later.

Coming nearly two weeks after the initial protests, the bombing is the first report of violence within Tibet after China imposed a security clampdown in the region and claimed life had returned to normal.

The Dalai Lama has denied involvement in violent acts and says he only wants greater autonomy for the remote mountain region. He has expressed opposition to a boycott of the Olympic Games.

An official with the local county Public Security Bureau at Gongjue, near the border with Sichuan Province, confirmed that six monks had been detained for allegedly planting the bomb and three for shielding the suspects and covering up their crimes.

The official refused to give his name because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

A woman at the Tibetan Regional Public Security Department said she was not sure about the case because it was still under investigation. She also declined to be named.

China says 22 people were killed in the Tibetan riots that began March 14, four days after protests began, with hundreds of shops torched and Chinese civilians attacked.

The Dalai Lama’s India-based government-in-exile has claimed at least 140 people died. More than 1,000 protesters were detained.

Beijing has accused Tibetan independence forces of organizing suicide squads for launching violent attacks against China.

Wu Heping (吳和平), a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Public Security, also claimed that searches of monasteries in Lhasa had uncovered a large cache of weapons.

On Friday, China labeled a group linked to the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile a “terrorist organization.”

Separately, Xinhua said Saturday a Tibetan seized in a Lhasa monastery had confessed to slashing a passer-by three times with a 30cm-long knife during the March 14 riot.

The man was listed as No. 2 in a most-wanted list by police, Xinhua said. Police have 93 suspects on their most-wanted list and have arrested 13 of them, an official said. .

Taiwan should be consistent

Monday, Apr 14, 2008, Page 8

President-elect Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) recent comments about how Taiwan should go about this year’s WHO membership application are troubling.

Taiwan is a de facto independent state with unsettled legal status. Japan gave up Taiwan in the San Francisco Peace Treaty without designating a receiver. Therefore, Taiwan should use the geographic name “Taiwan” to apply for the WHO entry until a future referendum on the status of the island is conducted by the 23 million people in Taiwan.

“Taiwan” is the name used by most Taiwanese when telling others where they are from and is also the name used by Taiwanese manufacturers to label where their products are made. The name “Taiwan” is known by most people in the world. Applying to the WHO under this name eliminates any confusion.

A country can be admitted under one of the three categories listed under the guidelines of the WHO. Since Taiwan is not yet a member of the UN, it cannot be admitted under the first category which has the prerequisite of already being a UN member and accepting the WHO’s Constitution.

Further, since Taiwan conducts its own foreign affairs, it does not fall into the third category which is for associate members of existing states.

Nevertheless, Taiwan can apply for WHO membership under the second category and should continue to campaign consistently in this way.

Even though China will make Taiwan’s WHO membership application difficult, the important thing is to gather the momentum of support and sympathy for Taiwan. The understanding of how dangerous it is to exclude Taiwan from the global health network and a gradual shift of support and cooperation by the medical professionals are just as important as dealing with the politicians.

Hence, despite all odds against it, Taiwan should maintain private contacts with medical professionals, keeping citizens informed on health issues through medical blogs instead of waiting for epidemic alerts from the WHO.

The name “Chinese Taipei” was an unfortunate measure adopted through negotiations with the Olympic Committee (IOC) before Taiwan’s democratization and was merely intended to enable our athletes to participate in the Olympic Games. Taiwanese should not voluntarily jump into the trap ourselves with new membership applications.

While some people believe that since World War II, under the laws of war Taiwan is an unincorporated overseas territory of the US, Ma’s suggestion to use “Chinese Taipei” for Taiwan’s WHO membership application is arguable whereas Taiwan is the inarguable geographic name of the island. Any adjective combined with the name of a city is not an appropriate name representing Taiwan.

A flip-flop of names in the WHO membership application will hurt the Taiwanese, it will only leave the international community with an image that Taiwan is not consistent in its stance on its identity.

Ma’s intended approach will backfire and benefit only the Chinese authorities, especially using the adjective “Chinese,” with its implication of People’s Republic of China authority.

Doing the Chinese authorities a favor by diminishing Taiwan into a province of China is certainly not in the interest of the Taiwanese.

Policies that will put Taiwan at a further disadvantage against its unfriendly neighbor should be avoided. Seeking to improve the general welfare of Taiwanese should be Ma’s agenda.

ALISON HSIEH
Athens, Greece

The spirit of the Olympics

Monday, Apr 14, 2008, Page 8

From humble beginnings based on the moral and spiritual benefit of sports, the first global sports competition, the Olympic Games was born in 1896. Fast forward to this year’s violent protests as the official Olympic torch relay passed through London, Paris and San Francisco.

While the IOC expressed concerns regarding the situation in Tibet, its weak statements urging protesters to “stop politicizing the Beijing Olympics” emphasized that “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or area.”

This of course calls for a re-examination of the spirit and intention of the Olympic Games, its modern incarnation and the absurdity of how “the games must go on” despite the hypocrisy surrounding the games.

The myth surrounding the Olympics evolves from the idea of humanity and in its Ancient Greek form was meant to allow belligerent Greek city-states to participate in sport to give respite between wars. However, the modern Olympic Games have long been exploited as a stage for political expression, repeatedly exploited by various stakeholders (most often by the host nation) to promote nationalist agendas, fascist ambitions, political propaganda or shameless displays of state power.

Ironically, the only times the games were canceled were because of disruptions caused by World War I and World War II, despite the original intention of using the games as a tool to suspend, if not avert, wars entirely. Let’s not forget when the IOC itself made a very political decision to discontinue Taiwan’s right to participate at the Olympics under its official name “Republic of China,” and downgrade its status to the meaningless title of “Chinese Taipei.”

With less than four months to go before the Beijing Olympics and given the recent violent crackdowns on demonstrations in Tibet, it thus seems par for the course that the Olympic Torch Relay has again run into trouble. Since the first ever Olympic torch relay in Berlin 1936, which embarrassingly displayed Nazi propaganda based on racist ideology, the event has come full circle. While China uses its rising economic power to wield increasing influence within the international community, the Chinese government’s self promotion as a benevolent “peaceful rising nation” belies hard-line oppressive tactics, an appalling human rights record and persecution of minority groups.

By awarding the Olympics to Beijing, the repeated justification that this decision could pave way for social change in China has been met with cold indifference by the Chinese government.

It is time for the international community to demonstrate moral courage and challenge China’s exploitative economic policies in Sudan and Myanmar, instead of hiding behind the “Games” as a non-political event. By choosing to remain blind, the IOC itself becomes complicit in the exploitation of the Beijing Olympics by the Chinese government for political purposes. All stakeholders must stand up to the fact that the Beijing Olympics would make a mockery of the very spirit of humanity which underpins the Games.

ROGER LEE HUANG
Taipei