The purpose of the "defensive referendum" is to maintain the status quo on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and has nothing to do with independence, President Chen Shui-bian (
Opposition parties have accused Chen of provoking China following his campaign promise last Saturday to hold a "defensive referendum" on the day of the presidential election. The international community has also speculated about whether Chen's "defensive referendum" is a concrete action toward Taiwanese independence.
PHOTO: REUTERS
peacemaking
Chen told foreign guests at a reception at the Presidential Office yesterday that the referendum is not meant to provoke, but is rather a way to make peace.
"I have to reaffirm that I will firmly maintain my `five noes' policy, which was revealed on May 20, 2000," Chen said.
"Like I have asserted many times before, any movement to deepen Taiwan's democracy, including the people's basic right to have a referendum and hastening the process to write a new constitution, will honor the five-noes promise. It would have no bearing on the independence-versus-reunification debate."
Chen said article 17 of the new Referendum Law (公民投票法), which refers to a "defensive referendum," can be used to strengthen a united country and would be highly effective in bringing foreign dangers to the public's attention.
psychological defense
"The lack of awareness about possible crises and enemy threats is one of the major problems in Taiwan. We must promote the concept of national defense as well as individuals' psychological defenses," Chen said.
He said that China still refused to denounce military action against Taiwan while it is continuing to buy more arms and increasing military expenditure, including the deployment of 496 ballistic missiles targeted at Taiwan.
"Every citizen of Taiwan should fully understand this serious case, and I must also appeal to all the countries in the Asia-Pacific region to squarely face China's threat, which poses a danger not only to Taiwan, but also to regional peace and stability," Chen said.
He said that the defensive referendum would be an effective means of letting China know what Taiwan's 23 million people are really thinking. According to Chen, most Taiwanese want peace.
status quo
"It is extremely important that Beijing should listen to Taiwan's mainstream public opinion. Therefore the goal of the defensive referendum is to protect the status quo in Taiwan," he said.
Chen made the remarks during a meeting with US Senator Jeff Bingman, who arrived in Taipei on Wednesday on a fact-finding mission concerning Taiwan's high-tech development and the nation's supply of and demand for energy.
During yesterday's meeting, Chen made a point of standing next to Douglas Paal, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, to allow the media to take pictures of them. Some Chinese-language media reported that Paal had been summoned back to Washington for a briefing on Taiwan's referendum controversy. According to these reports, this was a sign that the US is upset with Chen.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘NOT SUBORDINATE’: Only Taiwanese can decide the nation’s future, and people preserving their democratic way of life is not a provocation, President William Lai said Taiwan does not want China’s “one country, two systems,” and must uphold its freedom and democracy as well as resolve to defend itself, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, rejecting Beijing’s latest bid to bring the country under Chinese control. The president made the remarks while attending a commissioning ceremony for Taiwan’s first battalion of M1A2T Abrams tanks in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口). The tanks are made by General Dynamics, a major US defense contractor. China this week said it “absolutely will not” rule out using force over Taiwan, striking a much tougher tone than a series of articles in state media
RSS