The Taiwan delegates taking part in the ongoing annual meeting of the National People's Congress have admitted that they have no way of representing the voice of all the people of Taiwan.
At a press conference held Wednesday evening, the Taiwan delegates to the 10th National People's Congress were asked by reporters how, after living in China for so long, they could possibly represent the Taiwanese people.
Fan Tseng-sheng (范增勝) admitted to only being able to represent the some 36,000 Taiwanese who have settled in China, rather than the entire Taiwan populace across the Taiwan Strait.
Almost all the delegates were unable to answer clearly when asked by reporters what their stance is on the People's Liberation Army's deployment of some 400 missiles aimed at Taiwan where their "kith and kin" live.
Some gave the standard reply that the missiles have been deployed to deter "foreign and Taiwan independence influences."
He Daxin, a "delegate for Taichung," seemingly moved to anger out of a feeling of embarrassment and anxiousness, responded to reporters by saying the deployment of missiles is a military matter and that the delegates are unaware that there are 400 missiles aimed at Taiwan.
The comments came as Chinese lawmakers focused on the issues related to Taiwan and western Xinjiang region, as they began the second half of the annual gathering of the National People's Congress.
US and Taiwanese officials say China has deployed about 400 missiles along its southern coast, directly across from Taiwan.
During a news conference Wednesday with the delegation picked by Beijing to represent Taiwan, a Taiwanese reporter asked why China has pointed missiles at a territory that it calls its own.
Delegate Wei Lihui (
"If foreign powers occupy us, interfere with our affairs, try to influence our sovereignty or our sovereign territory, can we just not do anything?" she asked.
"If any foreign power wants to meddle in our affairs, they won't be able to do it. We're the Chinese race. We are the only ones who have the right to determine our affairs," she said.
Another delegate, He Daxin, a provincial official from Jiangxi Province, questioned whether the missiles were really aimed at Taiwan.
"I'm curious. How can this reporter know so much about where our missiles are pointing," he said. "The missiles' positions are a technical military issue."
Delegate Chen Yunying (陳雲英), wife of an ROC military officer, Lin Yifu (林義夫), who defected to China in 1979, said many Taiwanese are afraid to say they support "one country, two systems."
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