Take defense seriously
Having read Tony Wilkinson's letter (Letters, Feb. 19, page 8), I'm still wondering what his point is. Surely it's not that William Cohen, chairman of the US-Taiwan Business Council, has changed his tune. People, even government ministers, do that all the time. Why should Cohen be any different from the chickenhawks leading the George W. Bush administration?
Speaking of the Bush-leaguers, they are not the first government to make messengers out of former officials. One must admit they are useful mouthpieces when the message is tough and sitting secretaries of governments departments aren't permitted to talk offi-cially. Does Wilkinson object that Cohen isn't flogging top-of-the-line equipment?
Taiwan has defended itself quite capably for the past half century with semi-obsolete US equipment. More importantly, key components of Taiwan's war machine -- the Sidewinder missiles used in the Taiwan Strait crisis of 1958, the Patriot missiles now defending Taipei and the 150 F-16s sold by then president George Bush -- were not obsolete. They were cutting- edge.
President George W. Bush has said that his administration would "do whatever necessary to defend Taiwan" so the commitment is still there. It's up to Taiwan to pick up the ball and run with it.
Recently, however, Taiwan has shown no inclination to defend itself. The armed forces are demoralized and shrinking; the business community demands increased trade with the enemy; undermanned units sit in barracks while young "men" flee overseas in droves and the Legislative Yuan can't bring itself to buy the only advanced weapons available -- those "cast off" by the US.
Those in the US who want to sell Taiwan the means to defend itself have to wonder, why send this country "Star Wars" technology if it and the secrets it holds are going to end up in the hands of China?
Bruce Franklin
Taipei
Other side not greener
After spending the Lunar New Year holiday in Taiwan, I was surprised to return to Beijing to find a exhaustive list of Web sites blocked -- many sites from those publishing news-oriented information to others of a more academic nature had suddenly without explanation been made unavailable to the public. So much for the liberating effects of WTO membership.
However, during my visit to Taiwan I experienced something even more shocking -- my pan-blue camp friends attitudes towards China's media. They appear to have some mistaken notion that the communists are actually allowing information to flow freely to the people. While staying in Taipei, more than a few people told me that they had read about the growing freedoms of China's press and the increasing number of Chinese people surfing the Internet.
Well certainly, more and more people are getting online and enjoying the freedom of buying whatever products they want -- as long as these products do not contain any content encouraging free thought or expression. Consider some poor shmuck in Guangzhou who published his opinions of President Jiang Zemin (
Nevermind the soulless labors of most of the China's press. To be as bland as possible is the ultimate goal of every editor who appreciates their job. No, in most cases anyway, they will not face prison or work camps, but no one in today's China relishes the thought of being unemployed and unemployable.
So maybe all those -- look at China's growing intellectual freedoms -- pan-blue types should give their heads a shake and take another look. Of course in Taiwan people are free to spout whatever misinformation and nonsense they want -- they live in a free country.
Rosanne Cerello
Beijing
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