| News from CNA in Taipei |
KMT HEAD SLAMS CHEN'S REMARKS ON REFERENDUM FOR TAIWAN FUTURE
Aug 03, 2002 18:25 UTC+0800
Taipei, Aug. 3 (CNA) Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan criticized President Chen Shui-bian Saturday for his speech to the opening of the 29th annual meeting of the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations, saying it contradicted the "five noes" statement Chen made in his inauguration speech.
The "five noes" refers to no declaration of Taiwan independence so long as Beijing does not use force against Taiwan, no change to the official name of the Republic of China, no introduction of the "state-to-state cross-strait relationship" concept into the ROC Constitution, no referendum on Taiwan independence or unification with mainland China, and no abrogation of the National Unification Guidelines.
In the speech, Chen stressed the urgency for referendum legislation in Taiwan, pointing out that only the 23 million people of Taiwan have the right to decide the island's future.
Chen also said that Taiwan should "walk down its own road" and used the phrase "one side, one country" to describe the cross-Taiwan Strait relationship.
Lien said that he is not sure whether Chen made the speech in his capacity as the ROC head of state or as the chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
He said that the series of remarks uttered by President Chen since recently assuming the additional post of DPP chairman has not strengthened the confidence of the Taiwan people and has instead only deepened their worries.
The KMT chairman added that the DPP's internal party documents and Chen's speech Saturday prove that Chen still speaks from the Taiwan independence position, adding that the president's contradictory remarks lead to confusion among the people as to which course to follow.
(By David Hsu)
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