President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday called on the international community to understand that China poses the greatest obstacle to peace in the Taiwan Strait, and that selling arms to the communist giant is tantamount to encouraging an authoritarian country to attack a democratic one.
"What has introduced uncertainties to cross-strait relations is not the determination of the 23 million people of Taiwan to pursue democracy and freedom, but rather the other side's reluctance to renounce the use of force," Chen said, without naming Beijing's specifically. The president's words come on the heels of China's proposed "anti-secession" legislation.
"The most pragmatic way to deal with cross-strait issues is to bridge the gap in democratic development by expanding the values of democracy and freedom across the Strait, rather than pushing Taiwan further away from China through undemocratic and unpeaceful means," said Chen, who made the remarks in a keynote speech at an American Chamber of Commerce banquet in Taipei last night.
The banquet, held at the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel, was an annual event held by AmCham as a way of expressing its thanks to friends and associates for their cooperation over the past year.
Noting that the EU arms embargo against China was enacted after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 in an attempt to pressure Beijing to improve its human rights record, Chen said China has since done little to meet the EU's demands. He also urged the EU to maintain the embargo to stem China's arms proliferation ambitions.
"It is apparent that all the reasons [for imposing the arms ban against China] still exist," Chen said.
"I don't know how the EU can justify lifting the ban," Chen said while meeting with members of Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, a Washington-based think tank.
"China's annual defense budget has been growing at an average of 12 percent for the past 10 years, not to mention the 706 ballistic missiles along its southeastern coast pointed at Taiwan," the president said. Chen added that this was a clear sign that China was not willing to renounce the use of force as an option for resolving cross-strait differences.
"This poses a grave threat to the cross-strait status quo and peace and stability," in the Asia-Pacific region, Chen said.
"If the EU is to go ahead and lift the arms embargo against China, it would be no different from encouraging an undemocratic, non-peaceful country to use force against a democratic one," Chen said
Referring to the recent joint security agreement between the US and Japan in which the two countries declared the Taiwan Strait a "common strategic objective," Chen said the US-Japan alliance would help the two sides of the Taiwan Strait resolve their differences peacefully.
Speaking about Beijing's proposed "anti-secession" law, Chen said "it is regrettable that Beijing is moving to enact legislation that runs completely against this common goal [of maintaining regional peace and stability]."
During his speech, Chen also said he is thankful that trade relations between Taiwan and the US continue to grow. Noting the resumption of bilateral consultations as of last November under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement the president said that the US and Taiwan have a close friendship."
also see story:
Don't lift Chinese arms embargo, EU lawmakers urge
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from