Pan-greens to march over weapons bill

Since a bill that would allow Taiwan to purchase three major weapons systems from the US has been blocked by the pan-blue alliance in the legislature 26 times, a pro-independence group yesterday announced that it will launch a "large-scale" march on Sept. 25 in Taipei City to call on the opposition parties to abandon their boycott of the bill.

The group behind the march, the pan-green supported Hand-in-Hand Taiwan Alliance, yesterday announced its plan to hold the march, while Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Shu Chin-chiang (蘇進強) attended the event to show their support for the activity.

The head of the alliance, Ng Chiau-tong (黃昭堂) -- also the chairman of World United Formosans for Independence -- said yesterday that the arms procurements were conceived by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government, which strived to obtain US support for the deal.

However, Ng said, the KMT later collaborated with its ally the People First Party, to boycott the procurement deal simply because of their desire to oppose the DPP government.

"The pan-blue camp's irrational actions have jeopardized Taiwan's security and allowed the military balance between Taiwan and China to deteriorate," Ng said.

Therefore, Ng said, the alliance will hold a "large-scale" march on Sept. 25 in Taipei City with the assistance of the World Taiwanese Congress, another pro-independence group.

The special arms procurement budget bill is designed to provide the funding for Taiwan to purchase three PAC-3 Patriot anti-missile batteries, 12 P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and eight diesel-electric submarines from the US. The purchase of the items would cost NT$480 billion (US$15 billion).

Critics of the deal describe it as costly and unnecessary, while supporters say it is vital to ensure that Taiwan can defend itself against Chinese aggression.

Ng said that the congress has invited President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) to join the march. The organizers are hoping for a turnout of at least 50,000 to call on pan-blue legislators to rationally recognize the importance of the special arms procurement budget bill.

Su said that the US does not understand why the arms sale has been delayed in the legislature for so long, and that many US officials believe it is now time for the people of Taiwan to express their resolve and do more to protect their homeland.

Otherwise, no one would be willing to help Taiwan if it was faced with an imminent Chinese invasion, Su said.

Shu agreed with Su, saying that national defense is the basis for a nation, and that there could be no such thing as sovereignty for a nation if its national security is endangered.

Both leaders called on supporters to participate in the march, promising that they would help the march to succeed.

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