President Chen Shui-bian (
"China's intention to enact a unification law is an attempt to destroy the Taiwan Strait's peaceful status quo," said Chen, who arrived in Belize on Thursday for a one-day state visit. Chen made the remark to reporters traveling with him.
During Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's (
"China is not just saying it, but is actually proceeding to do it," Chen said. "As a national leader, I want to caution Taiwan's 23 million people to not to let down their guard on this matter."
"People must not take the issue lightly. Should China actually enact the law it would be too late for regret," he added.
Chen said "the Unification Law is a draft bill attempting to unify [China with] Taiwan. To call it the Unification Law is too polite, for it is in essence a draft bill aimed at using military force. The law attempts to provide a so-called legal basis for the use of force against Taiwan."
"The aim is not just to make Taiwan a special administrative region and to become a second Hong Kong, but if people in Taiwan don't accept this, China could refer to the Unification Law to apply forceful means to attack Taiwan," Chen said. He added that among the bill's 31 provisions, 11 were stipulations on how to attack Taiwan.
Chen said that in his view, "the US' Taiwan Relations Act safeguards peace across the Taiwan Strait, while China's Unification Law undermines the Strait's peaceful status quo."
Noting that the US and Japan were foes 50 years ago and now are partners, Chen asked "Why must Beijing go against Taiwan's 23 million people, who are from the same ethnic background, and disturb cross-strait peace?"
Reiterating the existence of the Republic of China, Chen said that only when China takes the subject seriously can both sides sit down to talk over issues relating to the "one China" policy.
He denied that this warning contradicted his recent announcement to cancel the part of the nation's Han Kuang military drill slated for Sept. 9 as a gesture of good will toward China. This cancellation followed China's apparent cancellation of its own military exercises on Dongshan Island, which some interpreted as a similar expression of good will.
"I have never said that China cancelled its military drill out of good will," Chen said. "What I said then was that some had interpreted it that way, although others had also interpreted it as being a result of infighting among the Beijing leaders or of pressure from the US.
"What I said was that, regardless of what China's intention was in canceling its military drill, Taiwan definitely fosters goodwill and is determined and sincere in pursuing cross-strait cooperation based on the principle of peace," Chen said.
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