`Martyrs' betrayed

February is considered by many as Taiwanese "martyrs month." But on Feb. 24, just a few days shy of the 58th anniversary of the tragic 228 Incident of 1947, a political earthquake shook Taiwan. Violent shock waves instantly traveled to every corner of the nation. Its aftershocks were felt in every Taiwanese community around the globe.

On that day, a democratically elected president got together with a diehard pro-unification proponent and his long-time political rival, and a declared he would give up the principles he had once held dear, and which were backed by the majority of Taiwanese people.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) simply threw in the towel. Why couldn't he be more sensitive to the families affected by the 228 Incident? Why wouldn't he postpone his meeting with People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and make their joint announcement on March 20 -- the one-year anniversary of Taiwan's last presidential election?

Chen has now said publicly that he would not rule out the option of "eventual" unification between Taiwan and China. Is it still necessary for him to waste an enormous sum of taxpayers' money in buying US weapons that will probably never be used?

Staunch anti-communist supporters of Taiwan who had been working so diligently to campaign for the arms procurement legislation feel a deep sense of betrayal by Chen.

Why did Soong suddenly decide to make peace with the man he believes stole the presidency last year? Possibly, kickbacks from the NT$610 billion (US$19.6 billion) arms deal would be enticing. Surely it would pale against the NT$100 million he stole in the Chung Hsin Bills Finance scandal.

With the support of 34 additional PFP votes, the legislature will soon debate and eventually pass Chen's proposed arms procurement bill. If we have learned from the Lafayette naval warship scandal, the new Taiwan-US arms deal will make many people in Taipei, Beijing and Washington exceptionally rich.

Wei Bao-tai
Taipei