Premier Frank Hsieh (
In an opinion article in yesterday's Washington Post, Hsieh also rebutted Beijing's analogy between the anti-secession law and US president Abraham Lincoln's efforts to prevent the secession of the southern states before the US Civil War, saying that Lincoln "wanted to preserve the Union in the name of freedom, not to deny it."
Hsieh used the article to contrast China's totalitarianism with Taiwan's democracy and friendship with the US, emphasizing the threat to Taiwan's democracy rather than the purely military aspects of the law.
"Taiwan agrees with the democratic vision of President [George W.] Bush: security will ultimately be guaranteed only through the advance of liberty," Hsieh wrote.
"It is no surprise that the most serious security problems we face in East Asia come from the policies being adopted by the region's two remaining one-party dictatorships: China and North Korea," he continued.
Titled, "Taiwan's Right to Freedom," the Post article says that today's mass rally against the anti-secession law was called to oppose the idea that China has the "right" to "use force to subjugate the people of Taiwan," and oppose the notion that "some 2,900 unelected and unaccountable Chinese `parliamentarians' have the right to determine the future of the 23 million people of Taiwan."
It says Beijing's US Civil War analogy is flawed because the Union that Lincoln sought to preserved was formed in 1787 by the ratification of the states in a process that rested on popular consent. "China's `law,'" Hsieh wrote, "is the product of one-party tyranny" and refers to a Taiwan "that has never been a part of, or under the sovereign control of, the People's Republic of China."
Despite repeated efforts by President Chen Shui-bian (
The premier also said that the process by which the anti-secession law was passed, including Beijing's refusal to release the text until after the National People's Congress agreed to the law, underscores the differences between the political systems of China and Taiwan.
That was in stark contrast to Taiwan's vibrant democracy, which has enriched the lives of it people, he said, while the Chinese people "live in a dictatorship with no political, religious or civic freedoms."
"Taiwan is an ally of the United States and has actively supported the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative. China has repeatedly been the subject of sanctions for its weapons proliferation activities around the world," Hseih wrote.
"Taiwan has renounced all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. China is expanding its nuclear arsenal and developing new generations of land- and sea-based ballistic missiles capable of reaching US soil," Hsieh added.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
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