Arms plan not tied to referendum

President Chen Shui-bian and radio-show host Clara Chou put on their headphones as they prepared to go on the air for a one-hour interview broadcast by the UFO radio station in Taipei yesterday morning.In the interview with Chou, Chen discussed the presidential election and the referendum, the military's arms-procurement plans and questions about his wife's stock deals. Chen said he was confident of being re-elected. PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and the Cabinet reaffirmed yesterday that the government will honor its NT$500 billion (US$15.1 billion) arms-procurement plan even if the public votes down the referendum question on defense reinforcement.

One of the referendum questions will ask voters whether the nation should strengthen its defenses in the face of China's missile threat, and whether Taiwan should hold talks with Beijing to establish a peaceful and stable framework for cross-strait interactions.

During a radio interview yesterday morning, Chen said that the NT$500 billion arms-procurement plan and the referendum are two very different issues.

"While the referendum question deals with future defense reinforcement projects, the NT$500 billion arms-procurement refers to an advanced anti-missile deployment plan the defense ministry has been working on since 1997," he said.

Chen made the remark in response to a question from the program's hostess, who questioned the necessity of the referendum in the wake of Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) comments on Wednesday that the plan to buy advanced anti-missile systems will not be affected be the referendum's results.

"Doesn't it sound ridiculous that the government will forge ahead with the arms-procurement plan if the public says no?" Clara Chou (周玉蔻) said. "Why do we need the referendum in the first place if its results are not legally binding?"

Echoing Chen's comments, Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) told a press conference yesterday morning that criticism the referendum contradicts the arms-procurement project was "untrue" and "erroneous."

"If the critics had studied the referendum question carefully, they'd have realized that the voters are not asked whether to purchase the anti-missile weaponry systems but whether to strengthen the nation's defense capabilities in the face of China's missile threat," Lin said.

He said the NT$500 billion special budget would help pay for the eight diesel-engine submarines, 12 P-3C Orion aircraft, anti-missile Patriot PAC-3 systems and four Kidd-class destroyers that US President George W. Bush promised to sell to Taipei three years ago.

Lin also responded to criticism from People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) that the referendum is a political gambit by Chen and a dirty trick to bamboozle the people.

Lin said that the referendum would have an impact on the government's decision-making process if voters said no to both questions.

"But we'd still be sending out a message to China and to the world that we're a peace-loving people and that we would strengthen our defenses in the face of China's increasing military threat," he said.

In related news, Premier Yu Shyi-kun is set to name five to seven Cabinet officials who will take part in the 10 televised debates on the referendum. Possible candidates include Taipei County Commissioner Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Straits Exchange Foundation Vice Chairman Shi Hwei-yow (許惠祐), Minister without Portfolio Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) and Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍).

Yu had approved a line-up consisting of five Cabinet officials and five academics on Monday, but the government decided to change the group after a coalition of predominately pro-blue political commentators launched a petition drive on Tuesday to be the "opposition" side for the debates. The pan-blue campaign headquarters has declined to take part in the debates.