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Annette Lu urges Japan to adopt `TRA'

"Perhaps the best option is to have the KMT take care of the pandas."

Annette Lu, vice president

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) called on the US to encourage Japan to pass a law similar to the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which has governed informal US-Taiwan ties and has committed the US to provide for Taiwan's defense after Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1978.

Lu made the suggestion in an exclusive Web interview with Foreign Policy magazine, published by a Washington think tank, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"If the United States could encourage Japan to pass a law like the Taiwan Relations act to regulate the relationship between Japan and Taiwan even without recognition," Lu said. "That would be most helpful."

"Thanks to the Taiwan Relations Act signed into law by [former president] Jimmy Carter in 1979, the substantial relationship between the US and Taiwan has been sustained," she said.

Lu began to advocate a Japanese version of the TRA last year. The idea seemed to gain some support after Feb. 19, when Japan joined the US in declaring maintanance of peace in the Taiwan Strait a joint security concern.

Parris Chang (張旭成), the deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council, last weekend said he was sure that the US and Japan would come to Taiwan's defense if China attacked the country, in view of that declaration.

He described the Japanese declaration as a promise to defend Taiwan.

The TRA essentially sets out rules that require Washington to treat Taiwan in the same way as it treats internationally-recognized nations in all bilateral dealings. It also commits Washington to sell Taiwan the defensive weapons the country needs, and pledges to maintain the capacity to help defend Taiwan against Chinese military action.

Lu noted that the Canadian parliament is also considering a bill similar to the Taiwan Relations Act, "so it is time to encourage Japan to adopt such a formula."

The bill before the Canadian parliament was introduced in the House of Commons on April 4 by Jim Abbott, a Conservative member from British Columbia. While it copies several provisions directly from the Taiwan Relations Act, and would establish a similar informal diplomatic relationship, it does not contain the defense provisions present in the US act.

The bill, entitled the Taiwan Affairs Act, would apply all laws governing relations with foreign governments to Taiwan, support Taiwan's entry into international organizations, call on China to demilitarize the Taiwan Strait area, and allow Canada to issue visas to Taiwan's president and other top officials.

Canada switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the People's Republic of China on Oct. 13, 1970.

In other areas, Lu refused to say whether she is considering running for president in 2008.

"That is a sensitive question that I won't answer," she said. "It's too early to say."

She also said that if China decides to send two pandas to Taiwan, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) should be required to take care of them.

Beijing offered to send two pandas to Taiwan at the end of a visit to Beijing in May by KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰). The DPP government has indicated it might accept the pandas if they were sent under several strict controls.

In her interview, Lu said a main concern would be whether Taiwan could "really take care of" the pandas properly, and that "everything should be done in accordance with international norms regarding the care of endangered species."

If China is "truly in favor of sending the pandas, I wouldn't mind," she said.

"Perhaps the best option is to have the KMT take care of the pandas. The KMT is so rich, so why not?" Lu said.
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