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Editorial: Who benefits from direct links?

The debate in the media and in the legislature on the problem of direct links between China and Taiwan took off when Jiang Zemin (江澤民) began to use the international media to put his spin on the issue before visiting the US last month and it has continued up to the recent opening of the CCP's 16th National Congress. Viewing the matter solely from the perspective of reports promoting direct links in unificationist media, one could get the mistaken impression that all Taiwanese are heedless of their own security and support their immediate implementation.

Even the view presented on Thursday by the Ministry of National Defense (MND) opposing the use of Taipei's Sungshan Airport as a service point for direct air links has been severely criticized by unificationist media and legislators. They have repeatedly argued in China's defense, saying that modern warfare doesn't require surprise attacks by fighter aircraft -- comments which mock the military preparations and strategic planning of the MND.

If the use of the capital city's airport is not man-aged appropriately, key targets will be left highly vulnerable. The crux of the matter is that no buffer region surrounds the Sungshan airport in the case of a sudden military attack. An airplane could veer over to the Presidential Office in 50 seconds. All actions to prevent the enemy from advancing an attack would take place in downtown Taipei.

Actually, there is no need for the MND to conjecture that China will launch a surprise attack on Taiwan. As long as the unificationist media and certain elected officials continue to serve as China's mouthpieces there will be no need for China to waste a single soldier forcing Taiwan's capitulation. The real threat to national security stems from the unificationist media creating a false impression of security and causing the nation to lower its guard.

We must admit that any plans for direct links will only benefit a small minority. This includes the less than two percent of the population with business dealings in China and as well as mainlanders who might wish to return to China to visit relatives. This latter group accounts for 13 percent of the population, with the number making regular trips back and forth amounting to less than two percent. Regardless of how it is done, opening the door to direct links just to meet the demands of these minority groups while sacrificing the safety and financial security of the majority is not the action of a responsible government.

This is why we support the government's point of view on cross-strait related issues: national security must come first. How can Taiwan possibly drop its guard when China still sees Taiwan as its main potential enemy and has 400 missiles deployed along its southern coastline?

On Friday, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) called on the Taiwanese people to maintain a sense of crisis awareness, saying that they must not treat cross-strait security lightly or imagine that they can rest peacefully in the belief that peace will follow from China's calls for direct links. He also said that "we must take seriously the fact that the Chinese military on several occasions has attempted to enter Taiwanese territorial waters, thus challenging cross-strait peace." His call should make everyone in Taiwan consider how many people actually stand to gain from direct links.

If the unificationist media continues to mislead public opinion, we suggest that the direct links issue be decided according to democratic principles, in a referendum. We cannot sacrifice the safety of over 95 percent of the people of Taiwan for the convenience of a minority of less than five percent.
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