China's attempts to turn world opinion against Taiwan met with some success, but President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) administration countered this by explaining that the referendum was about securing the status quo, a senior government official said.
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Ying-mao Kau (高英茂), also the president of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, re-stated the government's position that tomorrow's referendum is a "peace" referendum.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"Leaders of the world toned down [their criticisms] after we had the opportunity to explain about our referendum, that in fact our design is not as sinister as they suggested," he said.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"We are not aiming at changing the status quo with the March 20 referendum. We are designing a system to prevent the change of status quo and defend the status quo," he said.
Jaw-Liang Joann Chang, (裘兆琳) a research fellow at the Academia Sinica's Institute of European and American Studies, said that the referendum was a critical opportunity for Taiwan to make its voice heard worldwide, and an opportunity for China to hear the voice of the Taiwanese people.
"In the last few days, international media such as the Wall Street Journal have published articles saying that it doesn't matter if Chen is elected or if the referendum is [successful], Chen's legacy will continue," she said.
"This is this context that we hope the US administration will be able to look at. There are several very positive motivations for the referendum," Chang said.
Rather than seeing the referendum as a means to deter China from using force, it should be seen as motivated by a wish to encourage China to use peaceful means in dealing with cross-strait issues.
Chang said that if China hadn't persisted with its military threats, there would have been no need or opportunity for Chen to make use of Article 17 invoking the referendum.
A second motive for the referendum was to strengthen the nation's very weak bargaining position in negotiating with China, Chang said.
"Security is like oxygen: you don't notice it until it's gone. But we can't wait till our oxygen is gone. People power lies in our peaceful means of voting," she said.
Chang said she hoped this message would spread throughout the international community.
"Of course I cannot exclude the motives of the election. But electioneering is a common motive around the democratic world," she said.
Foreign observers agreed.
"Democratic politics includes referendums," said Steven Baker, president of the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California.
"[The referendum] is seen as electioneering. It is seen fairly as electioneering and that is a typical thing," he said.
Baker, whose state of California has just held a referendum to recall its governor, said that Taiwan's referendum should be seen as an affirmation of national identity.
"But it is an affirmation of national identity that favors a particular political party. The referendum we just had in California favored a particular political party.
"And the people will decide on the issue depending on their preference with the political parties. And that is a normal thing," he said.
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