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Air links versus security

Brandon Stoltenkamp's letter (Letter, Nov. 8, page 8) repre-sents a popular point of view among citizens about direct air links between Taiwan and China. Most people have urged the government to open direct air links as soon as possible and accuse the executive branch of delaying the negotiation process.

As a captain serving in an air force air defense artillery (AFADA) unit, I disagree.

The air force stands on the front-line to tackle the incoming daily sorties from China. The primary mission of AFADA units is to protect air force bases from aerial attack.

Taiwan's location makes it extremely vulnerable to aerial penetration from all sides. The closest distance between China and Taiwan is approximately 113km, which means it would take a Chinese jet less than 10 minutes to reach northern Taiwan. For fighter jets equipped with an afterburner, the flight time would be much shorter. Unlike land or naval warfare, which requires several days of preparation, only a few minutes would be needed to prepare for an air attack. Such an unfavorable scenario has put air defense planners in the hot seat.

This is why the air force deploys high speed, French-made, Mirage 2000 fighters for scramble interception in the north. Therefore, it's absolutely necessary that Chinese aircraft not be allowed to fly directly toward the Taiwan Air Defense Intelligence Zone. By following the pre-arranged air route, all the air force and air defense warning stations, standby fighters and air-defense artillery units will be able to gain more time for instant reaction that is critical for national defense. This is the bottom line.

Last Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense presented four proposals to the legislature about direct links. Some law-makers questioned the defense official about the possibility of a Trojan-horse attack from China.

The Sungshan airport is not on the direct links list for good reason -- once the enemy occupies the airport, the Presidential Office and other vital assets would be sitting ducks.

We can't afford to play Russian roulette and take the chance that an unexpected air attack will not occur from hostile nations. The nation has no second chance to survive.

We also should not neglect the after-shock that might result from direct air links. Furthermore, it is very dangerous for naive Taiwanese to possess wonderful fantasies about the Beijing regime. People should not take peace for granted.

In my opinion, before we embark on any negotiations concerning direct air links, an official well-planned package is required to compensate for the potential risk. This plan will certainly take time to formulate, so the public should be patient and urge our government to do a better job on this issue.

Frank Huang
Taoyuan

China congress a farce

Many in the international press are falling all over themselves to describe the Chinese Commu-nist Party's 16th National Con-gress as historic and to laud the process as the first smooth transition of power.

First, there is nothing either historic or commendable about disenfranchising 1 billion people.

Second, there is nothing praiseworthy or smooth about seven ruthless dictators meeting in secret to hand pick the next ruler. Continuing to ignore the suffrage rights of over 1 billion Chinese should be the most enormous embarrassment to China in its long history.

Typically, however, salivating economies throughout the world are blinded by China's market possibilities to the continuing repression of dissent, the flow of the truth, basic human rights and freedom in China.

All too soon, the lion will grow too large to be contained and even those who now appease the beast will fall prey to its ravenous appetite for power. Witness the continuing blackmail China exerts throughout the world against Taiwan. Why does any sovereign cozy with China today feel safe from similar treatment tomorrow when it suits Beijing?

The media must stop charac-terizing the communist system of selecting its leaders as new and improved. The only thing new are the names and the only thing improved is the extent of the secrecy surrounding the process and the oppression of all dissent.

Rather than lauding the continuing oppression of one-sixth of the world's population, obser-vers should express what they surely know is the truth -- the only safe China is a democratic China.

Lee Long-hwa
California
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