| News from CNA in Taipei |
CHEN'S REMARKS A PAGE OUT OF LEE TENG-HUI'S PLAYBOOK
Aug 05, 2002 16:34 UTC+0800
It is unlikely that Beijing will actually resort to force this time, the Asian Wall Street Journal pointed out, adding however that Chen suddenly looks a lot less like the responsible partner he appeared to be after his inauguration address.
And if the United States is forced to express reservations about his latest remarks, it continued, this risks giving China the impression that it can drive a wedge between the United States and Taiwan by inciting Chen into further lapses of judgment.
The daily said that the people of Taiwan have the right to self-determination and that this is a principle worth defending. However, it added, the Taiwan people are hardly clamoring for a referendum on independence.
The ultimate question of reunification will take years to settle, and will likely depend on political changes on the mainland, as well as the sentiments of a rising generation of Taiwan people free of the emotional baggage of the civil war and struggle for democracy, it pointed out.
For now, most Taiwan people are satisfied with the status quo, and all political parties on Taiwan have affirmed that any change would require some kind of vote of approval from the people. The question, then, is why Chen Shui-bian is trying to roil the waters, the daily asked.
It looks suspiciously like Chen is placing his own short-term political interests above those of the people he was elected to serve, the daily concluded.
(By S.C. Chang)
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