DPP, TSU blame pan-blue camp for UN bid's failure

People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) should apologize to the nation for the failure of the latest attempt to join the UN, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said yesterday.

"Lien and Soong owe the public an apology for their visits to China, which were why the UN rejected our application to attain a seat in the world body for the 13th straight year," DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said.

The UN's General Assembly spent 45 minutes earlier this week discussing Taiwan's two proposals for accession to the global body.

The first proposal urged the assembly to "ensure the representation of the 23 million people of Taiwan in the UN," while the second requested a "proactive role by the UN in maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait."

Lai said that the Chinese representative to the UN used Lien and Soong's visits to prove to the assembly that there is no cross-strait tension, so Taiwan does not need to join the UN.

"Lien and Soong owe the public an apology for causing confusion internationally about the cross-strait relationship and sabotaging our national interests," he said.

Lai said that the pan-blue alliance should also immediately halt their efforts to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party so that they will not leave what he termed "a notorious legacy" for the history books.

China's permanent representative to the UN, Wang Guangya (王光亞), sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan about Taiwan's proposals. According to the UN's Web site, Wang's letter stated that Lien and Soong's visits had "helped move cross-strait relations toward peace and stability, served the common interests of people on both sides of the [Taiwan] Strait and conform to the aspiration of Taiwan compatriots for peace, stability and development, receiving broad support from people on both sides of the Strait and winning full recognition by the international community."

Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus whip David Huang (黃適卓) also condemned the KMT and PFP yesterday for cooperating with Beijing to smother Taiwan's people and its diplomatic space.

To highlight their unhappiness with the pan-blue alliance, the TSU caucus refused to participate in a conference yesterday afternoon to discuss whether the pan-blue camp would allow Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) to deliver his policy report to the legislature today.