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Editorial: Letting words speak for themselves

A large headline of a pro-unification newspaper on Thursday read "President Chen's talk and conduct in campaign rallies, Taiwan Affairs Office paying attention." The news article went on to quote China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Zhang Mingqing (張銘清) as saying Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) denial of the "1992 consensus" and opposition to "one country, two systems" may trigger new cross-strait tensions and conflicts. Zhang was also quoted as saying the DPP's approval of the "1999 resolution regarding Taiwan's future" as its party platform is "old wine in a new bottle and does not change [the DPP's] pro-independence nature."

The Mainland Affairs Council responded to Zhang's comments the same day by saying the two sides of Taiwan Strait never had any consensus on the "one China" principle and, therefore, the so-called "1992 consensus" never existed. What was demonstrated in 1992, it said, was a spirit to begin "interactions and talk, leaving disputes aside." The above mentioned pro-unification newspaper buried its limited coverage of the MAC's rebuttal on a back page.

It is sad to see this type of news reporting by Taiwan's pro-unification media. However, it was certainly not the first time they have willingly served as China's mouthpiece. But it is pathetic that they are resorting to these kinds of tactics to try to sway next month's election for Beijing -- especially since the newspaper in question was the target 10 years ago of a boycott campaign by intellectuals who accused the paper of propagandizing for the "communist bandits." Ironically, the leader of this campaign, Lee Chen-yuan (李鎮源), exalted as "Taiwan's last conscience," passed away on Thursday.

Although the DPP is moving toward a middle path by making the "1999 resolution regarding Taiwan's future" its party platform, China has ignored this goodwill gesture. In fact, Zhang went so far as to threaten that if Taiwan continues to refuse talk, China will attack it.

In the past, China has threatened to attack if Taiwan declared independence or experienced foreign intervention. Now putting off negotiations is apparently enough to trigger an attack. The absurdity is that Taiwan does want to talk but Beijing conveniently forgets that it is its own unreasonable roadblocks that are keeping negotiations from taking place. Besides accepting Beijing's "one China" principle and thereby surrendering to China, it would appear that any demonstration of goodwill on the part of Taiwan is futile.

In his new book, Chen expresses the hope that the media will not only report bad news, but good news as well. The president went on to add that in exercising the freedom of speech, consideration must also be given to national security. Some segments of Taiwan's media didn't even wait for formal publication of the book before attacking it. The criticisms of the pro-unification media have been the loudest -- without regard to the fact that they have abused the freedom of speech to the point of endangering national security in their pandering to China.

Chen's speeches, on the campaign trail or elsewhere, are no concern of Beijing's. Nor is it necessary for the pro-unification media to remind or threaten Chen or the voters.

Beijing must be reminded to take care of its own problems, which are myriad -- unemployment, the lack of human rights and economic inequalities. It should also learn the lesson from its pathetic attempts to to influence the 1996 and 2000 presidential elections with pre-election threats. The pro-unification media is digging their own grave with their efforts to counter the popular will and Taiwan's best interests. The Beijing authorities should remember that no one likes Quislings -- and that their efforts to counter democratic development are doomed to failure.
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