Taiwan's foreign policy is unlikely to change regardless of which presidential candidate is elected Saturday, Foreign Minister Chen Chien-jen (程建人) said yesterday.
Speaking to a group of reporters from overseas publications, Chen also refuted speculation that DPP presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian (
"In a free and open society, there is all sorts of information available," Chen said, adding that the Central Election Commission has banned the release of public opinion polls in the 10 days leading up to election day.
"If someone tells you who is leading, he is taking a big risk," Chen said. "I can't say he is unprofessional, but he is certainly not being honest."
Chen said that no matter who wins Saturday's election, the next government will have to cope with China's continued efforts to diplomatically isolate Taiwan and therefore, he foresees little change in Taiwan's foreign policy.
"If the international environment does not change, the interests of the people do not change and Beijing's position does not change. There won't be much change no matter who is elected," he said.
At the same time, Chen raised the subject of Vice President Lien Chan's (
While admitting that Taiwan politics are tainted by "black gold" -- the influence of organized crime and corruption -- Chen also told the visiting journalists that the problem is not exclusive to the KMT.
"Nobody likes `black gold' politics but unfortunately, it has happened in our politics," Chen said.
"We would like to see `black gold' disappear from our political parties," he said. "Remember, it's plural [as in parties]."
Turning to the issue of China's white paper on Taiwan, released on Feb. 21, Chen said he believes the paper would only have a minimal impact -- if not backfire -- on how people will vote on Saturday.
He said the white paper is misleading in that China deceitfully offers "equal footing" but only under its interpretation of "one-China" -- which downgrades Taiwan as a local government vis-a-vis Beijing.
"We have noticed China has mentioned `equal footing' in the white paper, but have you noticed that the white paper contains 15,000 characters and how many times is 'equal footing' mentioned?" Chen said, in response to a question by a reporter.
"`Equal footing' cannot be considered as the spirit of the white paper. We would like to conduct negotiations, but not with preconditions," he said.
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