Dear editor:

 Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's much-discussed speech this past weekend was not a change in policy but rather a reaffirmation of principles that both Taiwan and the US have held for years.

President Chen merely seeks to pass legislation that would allow the Taiwanese people to make decisions for themselves through nation-wide referenda - a liberty that other developed and democratic nations have long enjoyed.

In his remarks, Chen merely emphasized the importance of allowing the people of Taiwan to decide their own fate - a fact which both the United States and Taiwan have long recognized.

In 2000, former President Clinton stated, "The issues between Beijing and Taiwan must be resolved peacefully and with the assent of the people of Taiwan." Current legislation in front of the House and the Senate contains even more emphatic language. President Bush's expressions of support for Taiwan have gone even further.

Additionally, declaring that China and Taiwan are separate countries is less a radical idea than a statement of the obvious - Taiwan has existed as a de factoindependent country for the entire history of the People's Republic of China. President Chen's predecessor in office, Lee Teng-hui, covered the same ground in 1999 when he stated that China and Taiwan had a "special state-to-state relationship."

Both the US and Taiwan saw long ago that there is nothing revolutionary about allowing the twenty-three million citizens of this democracy to choose their own fate, nor in recognizing that it exists as a separate country in everything but name. President Chen's reaffirmation of these principles is just that - a reaffirmation - and nothing more.

Nobody but the people of Taiwan has the right to determine the future of Taiwan! 

Sincerely yours,

Back to Chen on Referendum