|
|
 |
| Financial
Times, August 12, 2002 |
 |
"Chen
merely reaffirmed long-held principles"
Financial Times, August 12 2002
From Mr Ming-chi Wu.
Sir, James Kynge and Mure Dickie's excellent article "Calls
for Taiwan
referendum sparks warning from China" (August 6) missed
one important point.
Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's much-discussed recent speech
was not a change
in policy but a reaffirmation of principles that the US and
Taiwan have shared
for years.
Both the US and Taiwan have long recognised that the Taiwanese
people, being
part of a modern democracy, have a fundamental right to choose
their own
destiny. Despite China's threats to invade Taiwan if it sought
independence,
former US President Bill Clinton declared in 2000: "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, while President George W. Bush's expressions
of support
for Taiwan have been equally strong.
Given that past US presidents (and former Taiwanese president
Lee Teng-hui)
have echoed the same sentiment, President Chen's remarks were
hardly radical.
His call for legislation that would allow the Taiwanese people
to make
decisions for themselves through nationwide referenda - a liberty
that other
developed and democratic nations have long enjoyed - merely
voices the shared
beliefs of the US and Taiwan.
Also, President Chen's declaration that China and Taiwan are
separate countries
is less a radical idea than a statement of the obvious - Taiwan
has existed as
a de facto independent country for the entire history of the
People's Republic
of China. Both the US and Taiwan saw long ago that there is
nothing
revolutionary about allowing the 23m citizens of this democracy
to choose their
own fate, nor in recognising 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.
Ming-chi Wu, President, Formosan Association for Public Affairs,
Washington DC
20003, US
|
|
|
