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Unearthing `three new economic treasures'

President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) rejection of the Cabinet's resignation finally ended the campaign to remove the "three new treasures" (新三寶) -- Government Information Office Minister Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉), Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) and Ministry of Education chief secretary Chuang Kuo-jung (莊國榮) -- begun by the pan-blue camp and pro-unification academics and media. The attempt to use media pressure was ultimately unsuccessful and this trio made bold contributions to the deepening of pro-localization identity during the eight years of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rule.

If only this trio had been employed in 2000, Taiwan's attempt to distance itself from China to achieve a global perspective would have produced impressive results.

Unfortunately, they entered the stage too late and have yet to unleash their full potential. Otherwise, the normalization of Taiwan's education and the formation of a more balanced media atmosphere would be nothing like it is today.

If the economic field were graced with a similar trio promoting the economy, combined with the hard work and wisdom of the Taiwanese people, Taiwan's economy could have been top in Asia and the pan-green camp would have had a chance to sweep both the legislative and presidential elections.

The same applies to foreign affairs. A few days ago, I read a report which in essence said that since Taiwan's de facto ambassador to Washington, Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), took up his position nine months ago, he has given 80 speeches and 69 interviews across the US, but although the US outside Washington has increased its knowledge of and sympathy for Taiwan, the Bush government continues to criticize its "provocative" UN referendums. Just after assuming his position, Wu entertained an unprecedented five South Pacific heads of state and prime ministers at Twin Oaks Garden in one evening. Americans familiar with Wu give him the thumbs up. If the DPP loses the March 22 election, he will be forced to leave Washington.

Why is Wu unable to persuade the Bush government to change its opposition to the referendums? The complex reasons of course include international circumstances and the rise of China, but most important is the fact that pan-blue individuals opposed to Taiwan's UN membership have been posted in Washington for the last seven years.

This can clearly not be remedied in just nine months. Just as the DPP's seven year rule has been severely affected by the pro-China media, the Bush administration has been misled by a false image of the DPP government that was propagated by pan-blue representatives in Washington. This cannot be altered in a short time. If the DPP government had stationed a pan-green representative in Washington in 2000, the situation could be different. Looking at the US founding principles and its long-term interests, it should not be opposed to Taiwan's democratic development and exercise of civil rights in the form of referendums.

To help millions of Taiwanese businesspeople in China to return for the presidential election on March 22, some commercial airlines may be offering 40 percent discounts on tickets. This has been a source of tension for the DPP, which is accusing China of vote buying. But why are there millions of Taiwanese businesspeople in China in the first place? We can only regret that there were no "three new economic treasures" in 2000.

Let us pray that the "three new treasures" and Wu enjoy prosperous successive terms -- and that three new economic treasures will appear soon to lead Taiwan away from China and into the West.

Huang Tien-lin is a former national policy adviser.

Translated by Angela Hong
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