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Chen talks about floods and fishing

A man smoking a cigarette sits in a flooded house in Aoku Village in Tungshih Township, Chiayi County, yesterday. The area has been under water for 10 days. PHOTO: TING WEI-CHIEH, TAIPEI TIMES

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration has never wavered in its stance that the Daioyutais belong to Taiwan, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday, adding that the recent row with Japan is an issue of fishing rights, not sovereignty.

Chen made the statement when meeting with DPP local government chiefs.

One hot topic in the meeting was the high-profile trip taken by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who, accompanied by Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) and a score of legislators, boarded the fully armed Knox-class frigate Feng Yang on Tuesday and sailed close to disputed seas near the Diaoyutais, on what Wang claimed was a move that demonstrated the government's determination to protect its fishermen.

Many pan-green members panned the high-profile trip as a "political performance." Saying that local media had reported the event as if it was a big deal, the president added that "it is not that big of a deal if it was to be perceived as a mere inspection carried out by the people's representatives."

Chen said when he was a legislator on the Legislative Yuan's defense committee, he had also boarded a navy frigate for an inspection tour. He said Wang's navel foray was "appropriately handled" and not especially controversial, since Wang was accompanied by the minister of defense, and not the commander-in-chief of the navy or the chief of the general staff.

Some pan-blue members have said that Taiwan should go as far as to start a war with Japan to protect Taiwanese fishermen's rights, the president noted. He then asked whether Taiwan "should go to war with China as well, in response to its `Anti-Secession' Law, which claims that Taiwan is a part of China." He urged people not to keep double standards or make remarks that confuse the public.

Given that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will carry out negotiations with Japan on the fishing issues at the end of July, the president said that the issue can only be resolved via diplomatic means.

Yesterday's gathering, held at Taipei Guest House in the afternoon, was to provide a venue for an exchange of ideas between the president and local government chiefs. The president listened to the views of local government leaders from flood-affected areas regarding relief work and damage caused by the disaster in southern Taiwan.

The gathering between the president and DPP mayors and county commissioners was originally scheduled for last Tuesday, but was postponed due to heavy rain in southern Taiwan.

Six straight days of torrential rains starting on June 12 had left streets and rice fields in many townships swamped with floodwater.

According to a tally from the Council of Agriculture, the flash floods in southern Taiwan last week caused a total of NT$2.15 billion in agricultural losses. The figure broke the record set in June 1998 when torrential rains caused NT$1.91 billion worth of agricultural losses.

Some officials expressed their concern that the flood could affect the DPP's electoral outlook negatively.

In response, the president told them to "put all their efforts into post-flood relief work" and to "turn the crisis into an opportunity." He added that he had also instructed the Executive Yuan to monitor sanitary conditions in the flood-ravaged areas and carry out relief work, including clean-up, post-flood reconstruction and the issuance of subsidies for flood-affected households.
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