Thu, Mar 31, 2005 page8

• Editorial: The KMT doesn't represent Taiwan

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  With the March 26 rally, the Taiwanese people showed the international community their determination not to accept annexation by China and it also asked the world to help Taiwan oppose any Chinese attempts to take military action based on Beijing's "Anti-Secession" Law.

  Regrettably, pro-unification forces are taking every opportunity to weaken Taiwan's demands. Foremost among these is Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who declared that the rally only attracted 270,000 participants, an obvious attempt to manipulate the international media's reporting of the event by undermining the impact of the demonstration. This has angered many people in this country. Over the past few days, many participants in the demonstration have posted aerial photographs of the event on the Internet to expose Ma's lies (for an example, visit http://batukhan.100free.com/ahqmain9.html).

  On the day of the demonstration, reporters from this newspaper asked police at the rally for an estimate of participants. At the time, they said it was impossible to make such an estimate. Ma, however, cited police figures when announcing his estimate. Reporters from many countries and media organizations were present to report on the demonstration. They -- and the march participants -- are all witnesses, and Ma's fake numbers convince no one.

  This is not very surprising. Ma's long-standing toadying to Beijing has won him the nickname "Chief Executive Ma" -- an echo of the title bestowed on Hong Kong's leader. Last year, when Ma wanted to visit the territory at the invitation of a local group, a slight criticism of the recently proposed Anti-Secession Law led to his being denied a visa. He is now clearly trying to win Beijing's forgiveness.

  Ma's announcement that no more than 270,000 people participated in the demonstration is as despicable -- and as easily disprovable -- as former Chinese premier Li Peng's (李鵬) comment that only a "small clique" participated in the Tiananmen demonstrations in 1989.

  Just two days after the rally, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun (江丙坤) led a delegation to Beijing. The visit seems to be an endorsement by the KMT of the new law and yet another insult to march participants. It is also a slap in the face for the US and Japan, who have been doing their utmost to persuade the EU to maintain the embargo on arms sales to China. Members of the EU are probably now wondering: "If Taiwanese can come to a reconciliation with China, then why can't the EU?"

  The international community should know by now that the KMT no longer represents the majority of Taiwanese, and that the party has been rejected by the people in two straight presidential elections. In last December's legislative elections, the KMT only won 79 seats, trailing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the largest party in the legislature, by 10 seats.

  The people of Taiwan support peace and hope for cross-strait dialogue. Unfortunately, ever since President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) came to power in 2000, China has turned a deaf ear to his many calls for dialogue, persisting in its strategy of using pressure on trade to influence politics. This strategy has angered the people of Taiwan.

  Taiwan has not given up. It will still work toward establishing a dialogue, but this dialogue should not be conducted by the increasingly marginalized KMT. Instead, it should be conducted by the democratically elected government that represents the people of Taiwan. It is most unwise to offer any praise for the KMT's visit to China, for this is tantamount to encouraging the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party to cooperate in further isolating the DPP and the people of Taiwan which it represents. That is not the kind of dialogue the people want.
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