Official tells NYC paper that China is a threat

A Taiwanese official in New York said Wednesday that the people of Taiwan know well what it is like to live under constant threat of attack by a neighboring power.

Yih Jung-tzung (易榮宗), director of the Information Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, said China is an established nuclear power and seems to be enlarging its military with Taiwan in mind as its chief potential target.

"What the communist leadership still refuses to recognize is that Taiwan's people cherish their hard-earned freedom and democracy and will not be bullied out of their right to self-determination," Yih said in a letter to the editor of the New York Sun.

Yih pointed out that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has repeatedly stated his goodwill toward China and has issued a standing invitation to communist leaders to open negotiations in the hope of better relations across the Taiwan Strait.

"It's a tragedy that all the mainland has offered to date is the continued threat of violence," Yih added.

In a recent speech, Chen called on Beijing leaders to "immediately remove the 400 missiles that are deployed along the Strait and to openly renounce the use of force against Taiwan."

Despite the president's repeated overtures and friendly gestures, Chinese leaders persist in threatening and intimidating Taiwan and its supporters, Yih said.