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Lee Teng-hui says UN referendums premature

"Joining the UN is a very complicated international issue. It's not that we can achieve it by holding a referendum. If it is to be held, it should be held when we are confident it will succeed."

former president Lee Teng-hui

Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday suggested that separating two referendums on joining the UN from the March 22 presidential election would dissolve a "crisis" that he said the implementation of the referendums would bring the country.

If the two referendums fail to pass the legal threshold, the international community would have a mistaken impression of Taiwanese people's willingness to join the UN, which would cause "irreparable damage" to Taiwan, Lee said at a press conference.

Lee called for "continuous research" into how the country would be affected if the two referendums failed to pass.

"It's a very big problem. I call it `Taiwan's crisis,'" he said.

Lee, however, stopped short of talking about the magnitude of the crisis and actions the US and China might take over the referendum issue, saying that he didn't have such information.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) decided to hold a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-proposed referendum on joining the UN using the name "Taiwan" and a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-initiated referendum on "rejoining" the UN under the name "Republic of China" (ROC) or any other "practical" title that would uphold the country's dignity in tandem with the election.

Lee urged leaders of political parties and presidential candidates to separate the referendums from the election so that the country would have more leeway to deal with the crisis.

"Joining the UN is a very complicated international issue. It's not that we can achieve it by holding a referendum. If it is to be held, it should be held when we are confident it will succeed," Lee said.

Kosovo recently declared its independence from Serbia because it had ascertained in advance that the US and European countries would be willing recognize its status, Lee said.

"How could [Kosovo] make the move without international support?" Lee said.

He said that parties and political figures should face the crisis responsibly and start political negotiations on solutions to the crisis as soon as possible, adding that the best solution was to "postpone" the referendums.

In response, DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said yesterday that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) would make no concessions on the referendum issue.

Ker made the remarks to reporters after Chen held a lunch gathering with DPP lawmakers at the presidential office.

Ker said that Chen emphasized the importance of the referendum on joining the UN under the name "Taiwan." He also said that Chen reminded lawmakers of a statement he had made when seeking re-election in 2004 -- that he would rather lose the election than withdraw the referendum.
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