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US accused of meddling in Taiwan's internal affairs

A US defense official warning to Taiwan over the passage of a controversial arms bill was out of line, a local civic group charged yesterday, while criticizing the government for giving a weak and ineffective response to the incident.

Calling the recent comments American "blackmail," the social group the Democratic Advancement Alliance held a press conference yesterday in response to Tuesday's comments by US Defense Department Deputy Undersecretary Richard Lawless that a failure to approve the controversial NT$610.8 billion arms deal would send negative signals about Taiwan's attitude toward security and make Taiwan a burden on its allies.

Since being proposed by the Cabinet earlier this year, the budget has met with resistance from opposition lawmakers and civil activists.

Echoing the criticisms of the pan-blue camp yesterday, the alliance said the US has no business interfering with Taiwan's domestic affairs.

The group said Lawless' comments are not representative of the US or its people, which are deeply democratic and supportive of independence. Instead, they said, his comments are indicative of the influence of weapons contractors Bush administration.

"Why is the US putting pressure on us right now, when it's uncertain who their next leader will be? Lawless' words reflect the concern of arms merchants that the deal will not go through and the influence of those businesses on the US government," said alliance spokesperson Kuo Chung-i (郭中一).

The alliance also criticized the government for its "lack of a response," saying that such blatant interference by the US should warrant a stronger reaction.

"The Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) administration is not afraid to provoke China with this arms budget. Why should it be afraid of warning the US to stay out of our affairs?" Kuo asked.

The alliance announced that it will hold a concert at the National Science and Technology Museum in Kaohsiung tomorrow night from 5:30pm to 9pm.
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