Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said yesterday that nationalism in China would reach its height in 2008 and that Taiwan must be clear about its identity at that time in order to safeguard against a possible Chinese invasion.
Lee made the remarks in an interview with Open weekly magazine that hits newsstands today.
"2008 will be the year when China's nationalism reaches its pinnacle. The dam in Sanxia (
"[China's] aim is to claim Taiwan to be part of China, using this great nationalism," he said.
To prevent Taiwan from being annexed by China, Lee asserted Taiwanese will have to intensify their national recognition by that time, so that the nation will be strong enough to counter China's nationalism.
Lee said he hopes the government will strive to ingrain Taiwan's national recognition into people's minds, so that in six years, 90 percent of the entire population will acknowledge Taiwan to be their homeland.
In Lee's view, the most vital elements for a flourishing country include strong leadership, a clear national identity and sense of purpose, as well as a spirit of unity. Only by clearly establishing these values can the people know what the nation's mission is, he said.
Lee also reiterated his belief that Taiwan and China are two different countries and that their relations should be "special state-to-state" in nature, calling upon Taiwan's citizens to accept the tenet.
Only by reaching such a consensus can Taiwan devise ways to cope with China if were to attack, according to Lee.
Lee also took the opportunity of the interview to proffer advice to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in his new role as DPP chairman.
Lee said that Chen should not only take advantage of the new power bestowed upon him, but that he should also work to sharpen his leadership, adding that the biggest crisis faced by the DPP is "a lack of experience."
Lee said jokingly that he would play an eternal "bad cop," mounting pressure on the government until it acts to uphold the people's interests, and that is the purpose of the existence of TSU.
A dauntless critic of the government's policy to open up direct links, Lee said the government should carefully consider the consequences of the policy before succumbing to outside pressure on the matter.
Lee also addressed the issue of the president's proposed cross-party "alliance for national stabilization." Lee compared Chen's plan to his own think tank, the Taiwan Advocates, saying that the group is like the alliance initiative except that it functions behind the scenes.
He said media reports that the group was founded so as to form an alliance behind the scenes, therefore, are accurate.
He called the group a "do tank" and said its mission is to help preserve political stability by assembling a group of talent to work together for the betterment of the country.
He said Taiwan Advocates welcomes the participation of anyone sharing the same political beliefs and is not limited to TSU members.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats