Wed, Jan 05, 2000 page3

• Lien to play human rights card

  CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS The latest plank in the vice president's campaign platform is individual rights, but analysts say it's mostly wishful thinking

  • By Oliver Lin / STAFF REPORTER
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  Vice President and KMT presidential candidate Lien Chan (連戰) appears prepared to wield the shield of human rights to defend Taiwan from China's claim of sovereignty, transforming "hard" cross-strait confrontation into a "soft" one, his campaign officials said yesterday.

  During a campaign speech on Sunday -- which made nationwide headlines for his declaration that political parties should stop running businesses -- Lien also said he wants to ensure basic human rights in Taiwan.

  "At a time when the trend in international thinking is placing human rights higher than [national] sovereignty, I am determined to secure the `right to live in peace' of our 22.25 million people from violation," Lien said.

  The idea was generated by the conflict over Kosovo, said Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), a KMT legislator and one of Lien's campaign officials.

  In the name of human rights, the US led an international intervention to protect mostly Muslim Albanian residents of the Yugoslavian province of Kosovo from an ethnic cleansing campaign led by the country's dominant Serbs.

  "Kosovo has demonstrated that human rights are more important than sovereignty," said Chen Shei-saint (陳學聖), a spokesman for Lien.

  Chen said Lien's statement referring to "the right to live in peace" was meant to counter China's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan. "Lien hopes this will turn cross-strait relations from a `rigid' confrontation into a `soft' one," Chen said.

  Analysts said although Lien's strategy is well-intentioned and is based on establishing a moral high ground, international politics is steeped in more realistic interests, over which Taiwan has little control.

  "Undeniably, the US can use [human rights] as a pretext for intervention when it is dealing with China on cross-strait issues," said Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉), an assistant research fellow at the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University.

  "It is good for Lien to raise this proposal, but whether to intervene with this pretext is something to be decided by the US. It's not up to Taiwan," he said.

  Chen Ming-tong (陳明通), a political science expert at National Taiwan University, said placing human rights above national sovereignty is a universal value worth promoting. Human rights should be viewed as an end, he said, while sovereignty is only a means to achieve it.

  "The problem," he said, "is that China does not pay the slightest heed to this universal value and it has strong resources to impose its own values, which place nationalism and sovereignty higher than an individual's human rights."

  "Lien's proposal can be used to accuse China of injustice but international relations are not based on justice," Chen said. "Human rights are not enough to deal with China."

  While there is not much Taiwan can do in its position as a small part in the conflict between two strong nations, it can do something to help itself in seeking international support, Hsu said.

  "Taiwan has to do more to contribute to international affairs," he said.

  "With the little we have done to that end, it is very difficult to get international sympathy in times of trouble."

  For that reason, Hsu suggested Taiwan set up a "Taiwan Peace Corps" to help other countries cope with events such as natural disasters.
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