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Chen says Taiwan will never reverse its democratic path

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that the only way forward for Taiwan is to uphold Taiwan-centered consciousness and social justice, and that no matter who wins the presidential election, Taiwan will never reverse its democratic course.

"Over the past eight years, we insisted on Taiwan-centered consciousness and have upheld social justice. It is the right way to go and I never regretted it," he said. "I believe the next president will go down the same path."

Chen declined to grade himself on his performance during his eight years in office, saying that there were many things that he did not do or did not do well enough.

"I need to examine myself for not standing firm on certain issues and am willing to apologize for any deficiency," he said. "I welcome criticism if I did not do enough, but as president, I did not betray my conscience."

Chen made the remarks during an interview with the Public Television Service that was broadcast last night.

When asked what advice he would give his successor, Chen said the new president must realize that China's suppression of Taiwan will persist, no matter who is in power.

"My experience over the past eight years tells me that we must insist that we are a sovereign state, that we are not part of China or its local government," he said, adding that Beijing will only intensify its suppression of Taiwan.

It is a "political joke" to claim that the territorial sovereignty covers China and Outer Mongolia, Chen said, because the Republic of China (ROC) today is very different from that of the past.

Beijing's argument that Taiwan is a province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) is unacceptable, he said. Without sovereignty, Taiwan will not have any diplomacy, he said.

Chen said Taiwan's democracy was the best theater missile defense and democracy means only the 23 million people of Taiwan have a say on Taiwan's future.

Saying a referendum is democracy in action, Chen urged the public to support the referendum proposal seeking UN membership under the name "Taiwan." Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party will be happiest if neither of the two referendum proposals on UN membership succeed, he said.

"No matter who you support, the pan-blue or the pan-green camp, Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) or the Chinese Nationalist Party's [KMT] Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), you must support Taiwan," he said. "The two referendums are as important as the presidential contest, but, if pressed, I would say the success of the two referendums is more important."

As for the DPP's relationship with the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), Chen said the DPP and TSU must bury their grudges and move on. With a pan-blue legislative majority, Chen said he was worried that those who cannot have their voices heard in the legislature would take to the streets and appeal directly to the people.
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