Wed, Mar 15, 2006 page1

• Chen likens China to a crazed elephant

  WILD ANALOGY The president made the vivid comparison in an interview with the `Washington Post,' in which he said Taiwan will not change the cross-strait `status quo'

  • By Ko Shu-ling / STAFF REPORTER
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  Likening China to a giant elephant and Taiwan to a hare, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday called on Beijing to settle cross-strait disputes via peaceful dialogue while repeating that Taiwan will not seek independence or change the "status quo" if China does not use military force against Taiwan.

  "If China is an elephant, Taiwan is like a hare. While the elephant stomps on the hare, the international community asks the hare to grit its teeth and endure the pain for fear that the more it cries, the crazier the elephant will become," he said. "What the world fails to see is that the hare is badly hurt."

  Chen made the remarks during an interview with the Washington Post on Monday. The article was published yesterday.

  As the leader of the country, Chen said that it is the common mission and duty of him and the people of Taiwan to safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. It is also the commitment he made to the US government and President George W. Bush, he said.

  The report, headlined "Chen Plans Debate On Taiwan Charter" with a subhead reading "Leader Keeping Independence High on Agenda," said that Chen "suggested he will continue to insist on making his dream of formal independence the main item on Taiwan's political agenda."

  The story then said that Chen told Beijing and Washington not to get upset because the opposition pan-blue parties have a legislative majority that will prevent his ambitions from being translated into law for the time being.

  "So everybody can relax," the paper quoted Chen as saying.

  Commenting on the report, David Lee (李南陽), director-general of the Department of Public Affairs at the Presidential Office, said that while he believes that the story is essentially true, it also carries certain amount of personal viewpoint, such as the word "suggest."

  Chen told the Washington Post that any future constitutional reengineering project must conform to the constitutional procedures.

  "Any issue of constitutional reform, including a change of national title, national flag or territorial boundaries, must obtain the consent of three-fourths of the legislature and be ratified by the people," he said. "The public can rest assured that future constitutional reengineering projects will never be dominated by one party or a single individual and will never be successful if they fail to win approval from all political parties and the people."

  Chen said that as the president of a democratic country, he has no right to tell the people what should be included in the new constitution and what not.

  "It is like the future of the country, we cannot set independence nor unification as the only option. We do not rule out any possibility, including independence and unification," he said.

  When asked about the thought process behind the National Unification Council (NUC) and unification guidelines decision, Chen told the Washington Post that he had originally wanted to use the word "abolish" but the US government suggested using "freeze" or "suspend."

  "We then proposed to use `cease to function' and `cease to apply,'" he said. "The negotiation process with the US government over the issue is very valuable. We are using our wisdom, creativity, sincerity and a responsible attitude to show our determination to safeguard cross-strait peace. We hope the matter will soon come to an end and we cherish our friendship with the US government."

  Meanwhile, in a separate interview with Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on March 10, Chen said the constitutional reengineering project is a "highly difficult political project."

  "However, nothing is impossible as long as conditions in Taiwan's society are ripe and we have the people's support," he said.
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