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Selling out to China betrays our
democracy
By Li Teng-hsin ¾¤µnøÊ
Monday, May 17, 2010, Page 8
When Taiwanese voters elected their president in direct elections for the first
time on March 23, 1996, Taiwan in practice became an independent and sovereign
democracy. It reinforced the fact that the country is completely different from
the one-party state of China.
Regrettably, China maintains that Taiwan belongs to it and constantly threatens
the nation. Since coming into power, President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) has echoed
Beijing¡¦s ¡§one China¡¨ principle and made every effort to push free and
democratic Taiwan toward authoritarian China. If Taiwan one day loses its
sovereignty, freedom and democracy, all Taiwanese, regardless of ethnicity or
political stripe, will be helpless.
Ma may have been elected by a majority of voters in the 2008 presidential
election, but he is still subject to public oversight. He is not some dictator
who can do whatever he feels like. Taiwanese elected Ma mainly because they
wanted him to boost the economy, while maintaining Taiwan¡¦s status as a
sovereign nation.
Instead, he is laying the groundwork for the Chinese annexation of Taiwan. He is
selling out and betraying Taiwan. He has already accelerated the outsourcing of
Taiwanese factories and capital to China. If Taiwan signs an economic
cooperation framework agreement with China, he will further denigrate the nation
and turn it into another Hong Kong. His failed ¡§6-3-3¡¨ campaign promises ¡X 6
percent annual growth, an average per capita income of US$30,000 and an
unemployment rate under 3 percent ¡X are a complete failure. He is Taiwan¡¦s
Public Enemy No. 1.
China remains tightly in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Oppressed by authoritarian rule, Chinese lack basic rights such as the freedoms
of expression, assembly and association, and the right to political
participation. Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (¼B¾åªi), for example, disappeared for
more than half a year soon after the release of Charter 08. He was eventually
sentenced to 11 years in prison. The CCP regime is illegitimate. It has no right
to rule China, let alone Taiwan.
In past negotiations with the CCP, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was
always tricked by the weaker CCP. Now, with a strong CCP, Ma wants to sign an
agreement with it. He is either naive or deceitful. By leaning toward the CCP,
he will also become China¡¦s Public Enemy No. 1 by prolonging the slavery of its
people under the CCP. Ma must stop acting as the public enemy of both Taiwan and
China.
Li Teng-hsin is a member of the Northern Taiwan Society.
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