Editorial: Taiwan should heed Wei's words

The frank comments by the exiled Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng (魏京生) during his visit to Taiwan should serve as a wake up call. It is time for someone to tell the emperor to his face just exactly what he is wearing, which is nothing at all.

Wei's talk during his visit to New Party headquarters was perhaps the most ironic. Wei said that Taiwan must maintain its integrity during negotiations with China. This means that both China and Taiwan should be on equal footing and Taiwan should not accept the "one China principle" as a precondition to negotiation. These words must have felt like a slap on the face to those contemptible New Party lawmakers who have openly advocated the acceptance of the "one China principle," and who will eagerly trade Taiwan's integrity for some table scrap of a "blessing" from Beijing.

During the same talk, Wei reiterated his opposition to Beijing hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. Recently some politicians in Taiwan were saying that Taiwan should take the initiative and support Beijing's bid. Why Taiwan should do this is beyond our understanding. At best, China is just another foreign country; why should we care any more about its Olympic bid than that of the other contenders? But then we remember that it is not just any foreign country but the one that continually threatens us with war. That being the case, it is then better to actively oppose Beijing's bid. To grant the honor of hosting the Olympics to Beijing's filthy regime can hardly be more appropriate than allowing Nazi Germany to hold the games in 1936.

As for those who believe that Beijing might reciprocate some goodwill toward us if we support Beijing's sponsorship, our only comment is "don't be naive!" Beijing believes that it is entitled to host the next Olympic Games. It will not give Taiwan any credit if it wins its bid to host the games -- probably rightfully so, given Taiwan's utter lack of influence in the International Olympic Committee.

Yesterday, Wei also encountered KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) during a charity event. While the two did engage in a brief conversation, unfortunately the conversation did not go any where. The only meaningful thing that came out of the event was Wei's comment after the meeting. Wei said "people look down on those who forget they are citizens of the ROC and go to China to kiss up [to PRC officials]."

Since the presidential election last march, of course, this is exactly what Lien Chan's KMT has been doing. The "Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) path" has been totally abandoned as high-ranking KMT officials, including deputy party chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄), scuttle across the Strait to visit Chinese officials. There has even been talk of a visit to China by Lien himself.

The fact is the KMT is being manipulated by Beijing. Ever since Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was elected president, Beijing has been deliberately trying to go around the new DPP administration and communicate directly with opposition parties and the local business community. Even the US has noticed this ploy, as pointed out by Stanley Roth, the former US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. As much as the KMT may dislike being "relegated" to the role of an opposition party, the situation remains a fact. Its legislative majority does not change this fact. It is highly inappropriate for it to try to usurp the Chen administration's role by opening up a side window for talks with China. What we need is a united front against China. What we have is the opposition becoming a fifth column promoting Beijing's interests.