ARATS head to arrive today for talks
　

ITINERARY: Chen Yunlin was to make a short speech at the Grand Hotel today and visit Taipei 101, while his vice chairman begins talks with the SEF vice chairman
　

By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER, WITH AFP
Monday, Nov 03, 2008, Page 1

“I will probably meet him [ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin]. The meeting will provide an important basis to promote cross-strait peace.” — President Ma Ying-jeou

With heavy security in place and plans for protests by the opposition, China’s top cross-strait negotiator is scheduled to arrive today for a five-day visit expected to cover four agreements on food safety, direct air and shipping links and direct postal services.

Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Chairman Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) yesterday said Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) was scheduled to arrive at the Grand Hotel around noon.

Chen was to make a short speech in the Grand Hotel lobby shortly after his arrival, where he would be welcomed by Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤).

Later today, Chen is scheduled to visit Cecilia Koo (辜嚴倬雲), the widow of former SEF chairman Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫), and to tour Taipei 101.

In the meantime, the SEF and ARATS vice chairmen will proceed with preparatory negotiations on the four agreements.

Chen is scheduled to meet Chiang at the Grand Hotel tomorrow morning, with the two expected to sign all four agreements in the afternoon.

The agreements address increasing direct passenger flights, opening direct cargo flights and shipping and shortening existing flight routes across the Taiwan Strait, officials said.

Also on the agenda are food safety issues after tainted Chinese products sickened at least three Taiwanese children and one woman and sparked a countrywide melamine scare.

Chen is also likely to meet President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

“I will probably meet him [Chen Yunlin],” Ma said in a recent television interview. “The meeting will provide an important basis to promote cross-strait peace.”

Although it was not originally on the agenda, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said on Friday that the government hoped to sign a memorandum of understanding on cross-strait financial supervision during Chen’s stay.

Chen’s visit has proven a contentious issue that has divided public opinion.

A recent survey by television station TVBS found that 33 percent of 901 people polled believed the nation would benefit from the talks. Another 22 percent disagreed, while 23 percent believed there would be no significant effect.

Analysts said this week’s talks could mark a significant step in cross-strait relations.

The talks will build on negotiations in June, when Chen and Chiang met in Beijing for the first direct dialogue between the two sides in a decade.

“I think China will emerge as the winner in the talks by pulling off a major propaganda coup with Taiwan,” said Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), a political pundit at Soochow University in Taipei.

Wu Nengyuan (吳能遠) of China’s Fujian Academy of Social Science, whose research focuses on Taiwan, said: “Chen’s visit to Taiwan is a landmark development in cross-strait ties.”

“The agreements will give a major boost to Taiwan’s economy and trade,” he said.

Activists form anti-communist corps
　

AWAKENING PAST SLOGANS: The Taiwanese Youth Anti-Communist National Salvation Corps convenor said the group was formed because Ma is too close to Beijing
　

By Loa Iok-Sin
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Nov 03, 2008, Page 3

Singing patriotic songs from the Martial Law Era and shouting anti-communist slogans popular during former dictator Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) reign, a group of pro-independence activists officially inaugurated the Taiwanese Youth Anti-Communist National Salvations Corps yesterday.

“Down with Russian bandits, we’re against communism. We’re against communism. Destroy Zhu and Mao, we’ll kill the traitors. We’ll kill the traitors,” the group sang at a press conference in Taipei yesterday.

“Mao” in the lyrics refers to former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chairman Mao Zedong (毛澤東), while “Zhu” refers to Zhu De (朱德), a key CCP leader in the 1950s.

Following the songs, they shouted slogans from the Chiang era: “We’ll be victorious in the battle against the communists. We’ll succeed in building our nation.”

The group said there were using the old anti-communist songs and slogans to remind President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who will meet with China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) during his visit to Taiwan, about the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) firm anti-communist stance in the past.

“Ma Ying-jeou, have you forgotten all these songs and slogans?” asked Jim Lee (李筱峰), one of the group’s initiators and a Taiwanese culture professor at the National Taipei University of Education.

Besides the songs and slogans, the group also gets its name from the China Youth Anti-Communist National Salvations Corps that was founded by Chiang in 1952.

Paul Lin (林保華), a political commentator and the group’s convener, explained that he proposed the creation of the group because he was concerned that Ma was getting too close to China too quickly and that Taiwan’s sovereignty and Taiwanese people’s hard-earned freedoms and democracy may be compromised.

“Some people say that the CCP has changed and the anti-communist era [in Taiwan] has passed, but I say the CCP has only opened up its economy and it is still repressing the rights and freedoms of its people and threatening Taiwan, so we cannot stop voicing our opposition to the regime,” Lee said.

Ellen Huang (黃越綏), former presidential advisor and a political analyst, agreed.

“Capitalism and communism are just ideologies and there’s nothing wrong with following either of them — but I cannot tolerate a regime that uses communism as a cover for its authoritarian rule,” she said. “That’s why I joined the organization.”

Meanwhile, at a separate press conference yesterday, a group of Tibetans living in Taiwan, accompanied by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇), warned on the dangers of entering an agreement with China.

Eight years before the 1959 uprising and the subsequent bloody repression by the Chinese military, the Tibetan and Chinese delegations had signed a 17-point agreement in which China promised to leave Tibet alone with high degree of autonomy, religious freedom and the right to live as they wanted.

“A promise by the Chinese was broken within a decade for the Tibetans. I urge Ma to be very careful when negotiating with the CCP and not to be naive. Otherwise Taiwan may become the next Tibet,” Tien said. “I’d also like to ask our government officials to mention the Tibetan issue during their meeting with Chen, because as a democratic country that values human rights, it’s our responsibility to care for others who are suffering.”

Security ramped up for Chen trip
　

By Rich Chang
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Nov 03, 2008, Page 3

The government has adopted heavy security measures as it gets ready for the arrival of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) today.

The police authority said some 2,000 officers will be dispatched to escort Chen and members of his delegation from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to the Grand Hotel, where the delegation is staying during its five-day visit.

About 800 police have been deployed to stations inside and outside the airport, while another 1,200 have been deployed at stations along the route that Chen and his delegation will take from the airport to the hotel. Some 800 officers have also been dispatched to guard the Grand Hotel.

Before 11am, the airport will be cleared to get ready for Chen’s arrival.

Travelers waiting to depart the airport will be taken to a controlled area, while passengers arriving at the airport will wait on their airplanes until Chen has left the airport.

Chen will be escorted and protected by 40 special forces officers wherever he goes and police will form a “human shield” around him to prevent any unexpected protests that may break out, police said.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said: “The government has turned the nation into a police state and Taipei has been placed under martial law because of Chen’s visit. No to mention the waste of tax payers’ money.”

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) spokesman Lee Chieng-jung (李建榮), however, disagreed.

He said yesterday that the deployment of the heavy police presence was down to the DPP, “because its supporters used violence against ARATS Vice Chairman Zhang Mingqing (張銘清) during his visit to Taiwan last month.”

Following a report by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) yesterday that police had erected sharp barbed-wire fences around the hotel, the Taipei Police Department issued a statement later yesterday saying that it had removed the fences out of concern that people might get hurt.

Beijing must change its mindset
　

By Tseng Chien-Yuan 曾建元
Monday, Nov 03, 2008, Page 8

‘Beijing must also realize that Taiwan is a sovereign nation, equal in it to status, and it must also show due respect and courtesy to President Ma Ying-jeou as president of the ROC. After all, Ma and the Taiwanese are citizens of the ROC, not rebels and traitors to the CCP.’

After official talks between Taiwan and China were frozen for a decade, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) finally agreed to visit Taiwan. Given the problems that have occurred during the last 20 years of interaction between Taiwan and China, the two sides have to make the most of this historic opportunity to begin a dialogue and agree on a legal framework that will assure peace across the Taiwan Strait.

China has constantly insisted that Taiwan accept the “one China” principle when discussing the resumption of talks between ARATS and the Straits Exchange Foundation. This was a condition that the Democratic Progressive Party refused during its time in office, forcing Beijing to face the fact that Taiwan has a different opinion regarding the “one China” principle. This refusal eventually led to China’s willingness to accept the so-called “1992 consensus” as proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), with Beijing eventually replacing its “one China” principle with the “consensus.”

While Beijing might try to twist the “consensus” into the “one China principle,” the KMT interprets the “consensus” as meaning that there is “one China, with each side having its own interpretation.”

When the “consensus” replaced the “one China” principle, Beijing started to tone down its talk about “one China.” This showed that Beijing was no longer willing to go head-to-head with Taiwan on the meaning of the “one China” principle and that it would rather use its political clout in the international arena and its status as the only legal representative of China at the UN to encourage the misconception within the international community that Taiwan has accepted that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the one and only China.

Given the international disadvantage it faces, if Taiwan fails to make it clear to the world that the Republic of China (ROC) is a sovereign and independent nation based on law when Chen visits Taipei as China’s official emissary, we will be basically giving in to Beijing and saying that China has sovereign rights over Taiwan. The Taiwan Strait would become a part of China’s waters and the international community will not be able to intervene in any disputes that may occur in the Strait, which would place Taiwan in a dangerous position.

Therefore, the government and the public must express their common belief in Taiwan’s sovereign and independent status to maintain Taiwan’s national security, democracy and freedom, and ensure the peaceful development of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

This also represents a pledge on behalf of Taiwan and its people to the encouragement and development of democracy in China. We have to make this pledge to ourselves and to the rest of the world, especially Chinese people around the globe, when Chen visits Taipei.

If China is really sincere about coexisting peacefully with Taiwan and does not wish to see any further spread of what they refer to as “Taiwanese separatism,” it must try to understand the anger Taiwanese have held toward China for so long.

Beijing must also realize that Taiwan is a sovereign nation, equal to it in status, and it must also show due respect and courtesy to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) as president of the ROC.

After all, Ma and Taiwanese are citizens of the ROC, not rebels and traitors to the CCP. Therefore, it is extremely disrespectful for China to demand that Taiwan’s government remove our flag from venues the Chinese officials will visit or to demand that the government ban or suppress any protests or rallies during their visit.

Taiwanese also need to understand that the goal behind us objecting to Chen’s visit is to announce to the world that we have basic human rights that entitle us to decide our own future. The public must also understand that Chen’s visit does not represent an opportunity for us to utilize the strength of numbers to vent our anger at him, his delegation or China.

Regardless of what ARATS Vice Chairman Zhang Lizhong (鄭立中), Chen or the CCP does, apart from taking substantial action to show our determination to decide Taiwan’s future, we must show every guest in Taiwan respect, including official Chinese emissaries who have been invited here by our government.

Taiwanese must clearly understand that these rallies are aimed at the CCP and the KMT and not the Chinese. Therefore, attendees of these rallies should remember that they cannot lose their temper and insult the people of China.

The biggest differences between Taiwan and China are their political systems and the values of their people. These differences have nothing to do with the beauty or ugliness of human nature or the superiority or inferiority of different cultures.

We have to guard against politicians using malicious instigations to cover up their own incompetence and those who try to turn cross-strait conflicts into conflicts involving nationalism, for this will only harbor greater hate within the hearts of our people that will last for many generations. This is not the way to peace.

Although Taiwan is small, we need to have big hopes and aspirations and cannot allow ourselves to be pulled down by anyone.

Tseng Chien-yuan is an assistant professor of public administration at Chung Hua University.

Safeguard Taiwan’s national interests

Monday, Nov 03, 2008, Page 8

Talks between Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yulin (陳雲林) start this week. We know that the talks will cover four major issues: the direct shipping of goods, proposals for more direct flight routes for air cargo, postal issues and food safety and sanitation.

These discussions will involve possible amendments to our laws and to Article 5 of the Statute Governing the Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例).

That law states: “Where the content of the agreement requires any amendment to laws or any new legislation, the administration authorities of the agreement shall submit the agreement through the Executive Yuan to the Legislative Yuan for consideration within 30 days after the execution of the agreement; where its content does not require any amendment to laws or any new legislation, the administration authorities of the agreement shall submit the agreement to the Executive Yuan for approval and to the Legislative Yuan for record, with a confidential procedure if necessary.”

However, the Cabinet continues to insist that the issues to be discussed during the talks will not require an amendment to any of our laws so it would only need to inform the legislature about any agreements for “reference.” That means if any agreements are signed as a result of future cross-strait talks, this same strategy can be used to evade legislative oversight. This would turn the legislature into a law-making bureau subordinate to the Cabinet.

What is of greater concern, however, is whether the government will uphold our national dignity and self-respect in the negotiations, and take the position that Taiwan and China are diplomatic equals. This is the only way our government can benefit the Taiwanese.

However, if the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) signs secret deals with China, it will not be serving our national interests. If the legislature is unable to monitor such deals or come up with any countermeasures, the rights and interests of Taiwanese will be damaged.

The Ma administration and the SEF must remember that all SEF-ARATS agreements should be sent to the legislature for review to allow the oversight that will safeguard Taiwan’s rights and interests.

Gao Jyh-peng is a Democratic Progressive Party legislator.