Taiwan could become the next Tibet if Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) were to win the presidential election, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) campaign said yesterday.
Ma, however, challenged the remarks, saying Hsieh had denigrated Taiwan's status by comparing it to Tibet although Taiwan is not under the rule of China.
Hsieh spokesman Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said that Beijing's bloody crackdown on Tibet was a cruel warning to Taiwan.
Beijing has suppressed Tibet despite a peace agreement signed between Tibet and China in 1951 and the fact that the Dalai Lama has abandoned the pursuit of independence, she said.
The joint communique signed by former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
"It is a cause for concern that Taiwan could become the second Tibet if Ma is elected president," she said.
Hsieh said that if Taiwan and China were to establish a "common market," there could be an influx of Chinese nationals, adding that Beijing could later send troops to crack down on Taiwanese if they resisted the Chinese.
"We would end up like Tibet if we do not protect Taiwan," he said while visiting a temple in Tamsui, Taipei County, yesterday afternoon.
"I will be the protector of Taiwan if I am elected. I will protect Taiwan's dignity, security and national interests," he said.
Hsieh said he would allow more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan, relax transportation links and increase charter flight services, but the nation's safety and dignity had to be protected.
He would not open the market to Chinese labor or recognize Chinese educational credentials, he said, adding that he would strengthen the crackdown on poor quality food products smuggled in from China.
The DPP caucus echoed Hsieh's comments yesterday, warning that Taiwan might become a second Tibet if Ma were elected president.
DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said the government should make efforts to support protesters and the Tibetans. He said China signed a peace agreement with Tibet in 1951, and then flooded Tibet with large numbers of Chinese immigrants, destroying its social and cultural autonomy.
Lai said Beijing's policies have caused cultural and racial conflict in Tibet, and the Chinese government had reacted by repressing protests in Tibet.
He said that Ma, who supports Taiwan signing a peace agreement with China, might make Taiwan into a second Tibet. He appealed to the public to vote for Hsieh, adding that Hsieh could better protect Taiwan's sovereignty.
At a different setting in Taipei yesterday afternoon, Hsieh said that the main difference between Ma and him was he wants to lead Taiwan to the world, but Ma wants to sign a peace agreement with China and establish a "one China market."
The public must have a say in the country's future, Hsieh said, and any changes to the "status quo" must be decided by Taiwanese people.
Nobody, not even the president, can unilaterally make the decision for the people, he said.
Meanwhile, the Taipei Society said yesterday it was worried that Ma would end the civil war between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and pursue unification with China.
The society urged the public to support Hsieh saying Taiwan's democracy would be in peril if the KMT controlled both the legislature and the government.
In response, Ma said Hsieh had hurt Taiwan's status by comparing the situation in Taiwan with Tibet.
Ma told a press conference that it would be "incorrect" to make an analogy between Tibet and Taiwan because "Tibet is under the rule of China while Taiwan is not."
He was responding to questions about the unrest in Lhasa and whether Hsieh's comment on Sunday that Taiwan would be "the next Tibet" might affect his election chances.
"Taiwan is not Hong Kong. We are a sovereign country. We elect our own president and our own parliament and run our own government. We are not reigned by Mainland China," Ma said in English.
"Frank Hsieh made a mistake by drawing that analogy. That actually hurt Taiwan's status," he said.
Ma said the situation in Tibet remains of great concern to him, urging a halt to the use of violence.
"Ever since I heard about the tragedy [in Tibet], I've condemned the violence used by the Beijing authority," he said.
"We will continue to be concerned about the situation in Tibet and other human rights violations on the Chinese Mainland," he said.
Ma said he remained committed to seeking a cross-strait peace agreement through negotiations.
"Pursuing peace across the Taiwan Strait is a clear objective of my future administration if I get elected," he said.
"Three years ago, when our former [KMT] chairman [Lien Chan (連戰)] visited the mainland and talked to leader of the CCP Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), they did mention the possibility of discussing the question of Taiwan's international space. I think that is a good beginning," he said.
However, he said that negotiations should not take place until China removes the missiles targeting Taiwan.
"We won't negotiate a peace agreement under the shadow of missiles," he said.
In related news, more than 300 Tibetan supporters took part in a candlelight vigil last night outside the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall in Taipei to condemn Beijing's use of force in Lhasa.
"The Tibet people are fed up with 49 years of oppression and repression by China. We urge the Beijing government to be more humane [but] the Communists do not believe in compassion because they are atheist," said Khedroob Thondup, a member of the Tibetan government-in-exile who lives in Taipei.
"This is a people's movement from inside Tibet. The power of the people's movement is strong. It has captured the attention of the whole world," he said.
Earlier yesterday, Tibet's Representative to Taiwan Tsegyam told a press conference that the Dalai Lama's Tibet Religious Foundation "sincerely urge the Taiwanese government and all freedom-loving Taiwanese" to condemn China's brutality.
"We strongly condemn China for using military force to oppress the Tibetan people and their peace movement. We urge Beijing to use rational self-constraint to cease all violent oppressive actions immediately," he said.
Chow Mei-li (
Last night, Ma again condemned China for its actions in Tibet.
"We continue to strongly condemn [China] and urge it to stop the crackdown and manhunt and to release the demonstrators it has arrested," Ma said.
"It should also offer an apology to the world," he said. "It was very unwise of China to take such an action at this moment."
Ma called on China to begin dialogue with the Dalai Lama as soon as possible.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
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