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TSU pledges to take action

The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislative caucus yesterday called on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to mount a "defensive referendum" to counter China's "anti-secession law" or it will ask the legislature to take the initiative.

"President Chen should initiate a `defensive referendum' once the country faces an external threat to its security, according to the Referendum Law (公投法)," TSU legislative whip Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) said.

"While China is expected to codify its claim of sovereignty over Taiwan in the proposed law, the people of Taiwan have the final say on whether Taiwan is part of China and whether they accept China's `non-peaceful' solution to cross-strait problems," Lo said.

If Chen refuses to do so, Lo said that the TSU caucus will seek an endorsement from lawmakers to launch such a referendum.

If the petition is thwarted by the pan-blue alliance, Lo said that his caucus will not rule out the possibility of collecting signatures from the public to petition the lawmaking body to launch a referendum.

Lo also pledged that it would propose an "anti-annexation law," which he dubbed "Taiwan's 11 articles," on Friday to counter China's "anti-secession" law, which is believed to have 11 articles.

TSU Legislator Mark Ho (何敏豪) said that China will change the status quo and sabotage peace in the Taiwan Strait if it passes the "anti-secession law" as expected.

In addition to calling on the government to respond to the soon-to-be-passed legislation in a pragmatic manner, Ho proposed a suspension of cross-strait exchanges.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) said that the legislation serves as a smoke screen for its invasive actions against Taiwan.

"Taiwan is already an independent sovereign state and not part of China," Chen Chin-jun said. "The law, strewn with its invasive ambition, is bound to receive vehement opposition from the people of Taiwan and a negative response from the international community."

Chen assured the public that the DPP's stance on rejecting China's annexation remains changed, as well as its resolve to safeguard welfare of Taiwanese people, defend the sovereignty of Taiwan and precipitate cross-strait co-existence and peace.

Calling China's move "provocative," DPP caucus whip Lai Ching-teh (賴清德) called on the Chinese government to immediately abandon such aggravated move and let the international community to step in.

"As Taiwan is an independent, sovereign state, the people of Taiwan will never accept any unilateral move to belittle the nation's sovereignty," he said.

"Nor can we tolerate any `non-peaceful' or undemocratic approach to unilaterally change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and undermine cross-strait peaceful development," he said.

The People First Party (PFP) caucus yesterday issued a statement, asking China to respect the will of Taiwanese people and Taiwan's change of political climate.

"Taiwan consciousness is not equal to Taiwan independence," the statement said.

"Any unilateral attempt to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait will not be recognized by the international community nor by the people of both sides," the statement said.

The PFP also called on political parties and the general public to respond to the matter with composure and wisdom instead of provocation.

Echoing its PFP ally, KMT caucus whip Chen Chieh (陳杰) called on President Chen not to "provoke" China and push China to the verge of war.

"While most Taiwanese people are more concerned about their livelihood rather than politics, I'd like to see the president spend more time setting public policies concerning the people," he said.

However, Chen Chieh also asserted that Taiwan is an independent, sovereign state that will not tolerate any attempt by Beijing to change or downgrade the status of Taiwan.

KMT Legislator Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said that China's "non-peaceful" approach would only hinder the resumption of cross-strait talks.

Shuai Hua-ming (帥化民), another KMT lawmaker, called on the DPP-government to accept the "1992 consensus" and restart negotiations with China instead of engaging in political confrontation. "If there is no `1992 consensus,' cross-strait problem will never be solved and war is expected," he said.
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