President Chen Shui-bian (
"There shouldn't be a red line drawn for Taiwan's democracy," Chen said. "[The fact that there] is means] the 23 million people of Taiwan cannot enjoy full democracy like the people in the United States and other democracies."
If a red line must be drawn, Chen said it should be fixed and Taiwan would then be very careful not to cross it. But it is unfair for the people of Taiwan that somebody keeps moving the line, he said while receiving US Representative Virginia Foxx at the Presidential Office.
Chen said democracy is a basic human right and a universal value, and that referendums are part and parcel of democracy.
While the US has held numerous referendums, Taiwan did not enact the Referendum Law (公投法) until 2003, Chen said. The country's first national referendum was held in 2004, he added.
The Taiwanese right to hold referendums should not be denied, he said.
Chen said it baffled him that the US government supported the independence of Kosovo but was against Taiwan holding a referendum on joining the UN under the name "Taiwan."
During his meeting with former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton later yesterday, Chen said that the US draws one red line, while China draws another.
"It is not that Taiwan keeps stepping on the red line -- the US' red line keeps moving," said Chen, adding that the red line drawn by the US was moving closer to China's.
Chen said a majority of Taiwanese find it hard to accept China's claim to Taiwan. He added that neither the three communiques signed between the US and China, nor UN Resolution 2758 supported such a claim.
"China's military threat and diplomatic suppression of Taiwan are like a man holding a gun with one hand and taking us by the throat with the other, and then telling us not to breathe," he said.
To protect Taiwan and maintain the "status quo" in the Taiwan Strait, Chen said Taiwan had no choice but to hold a referendum on UN membership.
As the leader of the country, Chen said he did not have the right to call off the referendum because it was the will of the Taiwanese people and a resolution passed by the Democratic Progressive Party.
Bolton said it was more of a problem for the UN that Taiwan is not a member because it showed that the organization had not achieved its goal of universal membership.
On US opposition to Taiwan's UN referendum, Bolton said that he "did not think one democracy should tell another democracy not to act like a democracy."
Bolton also criticized UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for making a "very bad mistake" by dismissing Taiwan's UN application and said he hoped Ban would find a way to correct it.
Also see story:
Cabinet displays logo for Taiwan's UN bid
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS