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President not interested in Beijing's terms

Following the summit between the leaders of North and South Korea, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said that he would not sacrifice the interests of the Taiwanese people by accepting Beijing's terms in exchange for a hand-shake with his Chinese counterpart and a Nobel peace prize.

Chen said that he does not need to go on a pilgrimage to China because there are many hands in Taiwan he needs to shake. Nor does he need a Nobel peace prize because peace in the Taiwan Strait is more important than such a honor.

"If South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korea's Kim Jong-il can, so can Chen Shui-bian," he said.

"Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) can, and so can I, but I don't want to forfeit the national interest for a handshake with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) or for a Nobel peace prize," he said.

Chen said he was not prepared to accept Beijing's "one China" policy and theory of unification because they run counter to his beliefs. Nor does he think a majority of Taiwanese would want to see him to do that, he said.

As national leader, Chen said, he cannot be so selfish and greedy to think only about his own interests because his most important mission is to protect Taiwan or else he would be judged by history as a wrongdoer.

Chen made the remarks in a speech to members of District 3490 of the Rotary International Taiwan at the Ambassador Hotel in Taipei yesterday morning.

Chen said that there is no such thing as "one China with each side's individual interpretations" and the so-called "1992 consensus" does not exist.

They are lies cooked up by the former KMT regime to deceive the people of Taiwan and the international community, Chen said.

The "cross-strait common market" proposed by former premier and KMT vice presidential candidate Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) is a "one China market," Chen said.

Taiwan will surrender to the authoritarian regime if the government accepts the precondition that Taiwan is part of China, he said.

Chen said that making money is important, but national sovereignty and security must be upheld in addition to the dignity and interests of the nation.
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