Chen must bring peace

Recent visits to China by two opposition leaders have put heavy pressure on Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to ease cross-strait tensions. One can debate the politics of the unfortunate animosity between Taiwan and China all they want, but the fact remains that Taiwan cannot live forever indebted to the US and would never be a real winner once war breaks out.

For China, democracy should be developed as a home-grown development. It cannot be imported from Taiwan. One does not expect changes to happen overnight. The opposition leaders did their best to pave the way for peace and democracy. But Chen's recent TV interview, in which he furiously criticized everybody from his colleagues to political rivals, only revealed that he's too confused to be up to the task.

In his campaign speeches, Chen repeatedly said:"Vote for me because I love Taiwan." He urged voters to give him a majority so that he would have less chance of obstruction from the opposition. The best way to show his love for Taiwan is to bring peace and prosperity to the region. If he is not able to do this, people will not hesitate to change things at the ballot box.

Weiming Julian Wang
Chiayi