Thu, Mar 17, 2005 page3

• Alliance sets plans for `Anti-Secession' Law protest

  • By Jewel Huang / STAFF REPORTER
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  Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday urged the public to call China's "Anti-Secession" Law the "10 clauses for invading Taiwan," and called on people from all walks of life to pour onto Taipei's streets to express their opposition to China's legislation.

  The DPP, along with 210 civic groups, pro-independence groups and trade unions, yesterday together held a conference to announce the establishment of the "Democracy, Peace and Defending Taiwan Alliance" (民主和平護台灣大聯盟). The alliance will be in charge of the march to be held on March 26 to protest China's Anti-Secession Law.

  The march aims to attract more than 1 million people.

  

  DPP Secretary-General Lee Yi-yang points out the 10 different routes that demonstrators will follow during the March 26 demonstration against China's ``Anti-Secession'' Law during the inauguration yesterday of the ``Democracy, Peace and Defending Taiwan Alliance.'' The alliance is arranging the march.

  PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

  Su asked the public to call the law the "10 clauses for invading Taiwan."

  "The name of the law doesn't make any sense. The essence of China's legislation is to invade Taiwan and we have to be clear about this," Su said.

  According to DPP Secretary-General Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋), the march set for March 26 will start from different 10 places in Taipei City, with each route dubbed a different name, to symbolize confronting the 10 clauses of China's law. The names include "anti-annexation," "anti-missile," "love of democracy" and "love of peace."

  The final part of the procession will bring the various routes together at Ketagalan Boulevard (凱達格蘭大道) in front of the Presidential Office.

  Meanwhile, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday publicly denounced the law as "nonsense," saying that Taiwan has been an independent nation and has recognized China as a nation since May, 1, 1991, the day he announced the abolishment of the Temporary Provisions Effective during the "Period of National Mobilization for the Suppression of the Communist Rebellion" (動員勘亂時期臨時條款).

  The provisions were enacted by Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) during his rule of Taiwan.

  "The Taiwan government announced the termination of the status of civil war between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communists," Lee said. "Taiwan is an independent nation that has sovereignty and we also recognize Beijing [China] as a nation. There's no pro-Taiwan-independence power existing in Taiwan as China claims."

  Lee made the remarks yesterday morning at the graduation ceremony of a class for Japanese at the Lee Teng-hui School.

  In his speech, Lee said that it is a fiction for Beijing to claim that Taiwan is a part of China.

  "Could we say that Taiwan is part of Holland or Taiwan is part of Japan?" Lee said.

  Lee said that China has propagandized its Anti-Secession Law unilaterally in international circles.

  "International society often uses the term `Taiwan issue' to refer the controversy across the Strait. However, in fact, the issue doesn't lie with Taiwan, but [rather] lies in China's ambition," Lee said. "China, ruled by an arbitrary military power, is attempting to swallow up Taiwan and then control the countries in East Asia, and repress Japan's lifeline."

  "Taiwan is a democratic country and is 100 percent peaceful; it has never attempted to invade another country," Lee said. "Japan has became a progressive country over the last 60 years since World War II, and is a good model for Taiwan to learn from."
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