The government should not misinterpret anti-war protests around the globe and damage relations with Washington by not supporting a US-led military action against Iraq, said academics at a seminar yesterday.
"Although NATO's France, Germany and Belgium have voiced opposition to the launching of war on Iraq, the majority of countries around the world -- despite anti-war calls from civilian groups within those countries -- do support US military action against Iraq," said Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), a research fellow in the Taiwan Research Institute's Division of Strategic and International Studies.
"If Taiwan were to misjudge the international trend of events and take on an anti-war stance concerning Iraq, it would undoubtedly harm relations with the US," said Liao at the seminar sponsored by the Taiwan Thinktank.
While receiving a group of visiting US Congress members last Tuesday, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) appeared to give tacit support for Washington's plans for a possible war in Iraq, although he didn't explicitly endorse the idea.
"The president expressed again that this nation supports US efforts against terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction,'' according to a Presidential Office statement issued after the meeting.
"Some worry that if Taiwan strongly declares support for the US effort against terrorism and a war on Iraq, Taiwan would become a target for terrorists," Liao said. "However, I think that such misgivings might not be a bad thing if they can help propel government agencies to strengthen and enhance overall public security."
Liao said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should back the US call for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to voluntarily leave Iraq.
Lin Cheng-yi (林正義), a research fellow at the Institute of European and American Studies at Academia Sinica, said that the nation should remain alert to what China's reaction is to all this.
"China has just completed a generation shift of power," said Lin. "Taiwan can take the opportunity to observe Hu's [Vice President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤)] manner in dealing with this international event to gain a better understanding of China's new leaders."
Although US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Saturday that Washington is not prepared to compromise its support for Taiwan to get China's help in persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program, Lin said that the government should monitor Powell's discussions with senior Chinese officials.
Powell arrived Beijing yesterday for talks on both Iraq and North Korea.
Lin said that the tension concerning North Korea can work both ways for this country.
"It would be bad if China, taking advantage of US preoccupation with Iraq and North Korea, took the opportunity to provoke and endanger Taiwan's national security" Lin said.
"On the other hand, ties between Taipei and Washington could be enhanced if the US becomes frustrated with China if Beijing is unable to play an effective role in persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions," he said.
"Another possible scenario to Taiwan's advantage would be if tensions on the Korean Peninsula continue to on the rise, China would have to strengthen its military deployment to regions bordering North Korea," Lin said.
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