Chien full of bluster
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
But it is obvious that this kind of empty bluster is a regression to the unrealistic insistence that the ROC is the sole representative of China that was the cornerstone of foreign policy under the KMT. The ministry should have no objection to Nauru recognizing the PRC -- it is the legitimate representative of China.
The ministry should rather request that Nauru continue relations with Taiwan under its true name -- Taiwan. Even less is there a legitimate reason for the ministry to take the initiative by cutting relations with Nauru, which shows similarities with the UN fiasco of 1971.
Given that Chien, a protege of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), was appointed by the Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) administration, and especially since he has determined that he will join the DPP, it is high time that he cleaned the cobwebs out of his brain on the matter of the status of Taiwan. I would expect your paper, with its strong stand on Taiwan sovereignty, to take him to task on this.
Friends of mine who work as translators in the ministry say it has hardly caught up with the Lee administration's policies, much less with A-bian's. But it is clear that world events will not wait for such glacial slowness in adjustment to the fact that the ROC was virtually eclipsed by the PRC after 1949, except to serve as a US prop in the containment of commu-nism. It is imperative that Tai-wan now move quickly, if judiciously, to dismantle the ROC facade.
Chien's performance in the Nauru case again shows why the opulent foreign ministry should be pared down and its work largely contracted out to non-governmental organizations that can build people-to-people international relations quickly and flexibly, without the historical burden of the Chiang regime and its World Anti-Communist League henchmen. Perhaps in some not-to-distant future the ministry could be reconstructed with the participation of those who have always stood up for Taiwan's right to its own name.
Linda Gail Arrigo
Taipei
Chen mobilizes the DPP fleet
Like most observers, I was deeply alarmed when the DPP announced that President Chen would serve as its chairman. It is a perfect recipe for dictatorship -- the coalition of a presidency and a party chairmanship.
Surprisingly, upon reviewing his alignment of the DPP organization, I was greatly impressed by this smart move. He has converted a chaotic political party into a powerful fleet that may be used to fight for Taiwan's sovereignty.
This nation's young democracy has been in stormy seas for the past two years. Chen realized that in order to win a sea battle, a commander must change his war plan from time to time.
Now with two strong fleets, the central government and the DPP, under his command, we hope he can lead the nation out of the situation and win the battle.
Jim Chung
Southfield, Michigan
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