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Rethink UN poll: German ex-official

Taiwan should carefully consider the consequences if the referendum calling for the government to apply for UN membership under the name "Taiwan" is successful, former German defense minister Rainer Eppleman said at a forum yesterday in Taipei.

Eppleman said that it was "shameful and embarrassing" that other democratic countries, including Germany, did not support Taiwan's democracy, but added that there could be negative repercussions if Taiwan does not withdraw the referendum.

"Countries are unlikely to abandon their `one China' policies in the near future and the referendum could exacerbate cross-strait tension," he said.

Eppleman said he was worried that even if the referendum passed, Taiwan's UN bid may not receive much support from the international community.

Eppleman made the remarks at a Taiwan Thinktank forum addressing the similarities and differences between East Germany and Taiwan's experiences with democratization.

Presidential Office Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), however, rebutted Eppleman's views and asserted the referendum could serve as a wake-up call to the world, making it clear that Taiwan is an independent, sovereign country and that Beijing has no legitimate right to represent its interests.

China is like the emperor in the Emperor's New Clothes, he said.

"Taiwan's referendum will be like the courageous boy who points out the reality when all the other countries are going along with the illusion," he said.

Lin said that the referendum must take place in spite of opposition from other countries and threats from China because it is the best way to reflect the will of the majority of Taiwanese.

Lin argued that history had proven that a group of like-minded people can break away from their original country to set up another country without first gaining recognition from other countries. The US came about in this way, he said.

Former German foreign minister Markus Meckel, in a prepared address delivered by Eppelman, said that Taiwan was a "moral dilemma" for Germany and other democratic countries.

Meckel had to cancel his trip to Taiwan because of an injury.

"It is irrefutable that Taiwan has made tremendous democratic progress in the last 15 years. However, history is full of unfairness ... We [the German government] must take pragmatic approaches to foster friendships with Taiwan without infringing upon our relations with China."

Meckel, however, said Beijing should stop blocking Taiwan from participating in important global efforts, such as cooperative measures against avian influenza and global warming.

"Formal diplomatic ties should not be the prerequisite for countries to talk about issues that are threatening the entire world," he said.

Lin said that although Taiwan stood to learn much from the fall of the Berlin Wall, the situation in the Taiwan Strait is dramatically different from the situation that led to the unification of the two Germanies.

"In the case of Germany, it was the communist side that wanted to embrace democracy. But in the case of Taiwan, the communist side is trying to engulf the democratic side," Lin said.

Eppleman ended the forum by saying he believed his government's adherence to a "one China" policy was "immoral."

It is also detrimental to Germany's national dignity, he said.
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