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DEFENSIVE REFERENDUM PROMPTS E.U. TO CONTINUE M'LAND ARMS SALE BAN: LU

2003-12-26 14:50:07

    Taipei, Dec. 26 (CNA) Vice President Annette Lu claimed Friday that President Chen Shui-bian's plan to hold a "defensive referendum" has helped prompt the European Union to continue its ban on arms sales to mainland China.

    Speaking at a tea party with local reporters, Lu said Chen's loud advocacy of holding a referendum on the day of the nation's next presidential election March 20, 2004 to provide a venue for local people to express their feelings about mainland China's deployment of hundreds of missiles pointed at Taiwan has caught the attention of the European Parliament -- the legislative arm of the European Union.

    As a result, Lu said, the European Parliament passed a resolution last week prohibiting the 15 E.U. member states from selling weapons and sophisticated military equipment to mainland China. The European Parliament was originally expected to agree to lift the arms sale ban, she claimed.

    Lu also alleged that U.S. President George W. Bush's unusually stern warning to Taiwan regarding its referendum plan after his talks with mainland Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the White House earlier this month has actually helped the world take notice of Taiwan's plight of facing mainland China's missile threat.

    Commenting on mainland Chinese President Hu Jintao's meeting with some 70 Taiwanese business leaders in Beijing a day earlier, Lu said the event was yet more evidence of Beijing's attempts to meddle in Taiwan's upcoming presidential election.

    Beijing gave unusual VIP treatment to heads of Taiwan chambers of commerce in provinces and cities across mainland China Thursday, underscoring its warm relations with Taiwanese investors just a day after announcing the arrest of 24 alleged Taiwanese spies. The Taiwanese delegates gathered in Beijing for an impromptu closed-door meeting with senior mainland leaders, including Hu, at the invitation of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, or China's Cabinet.

    Lu said she had strong feelings watching television footage featuring Hu's facial expressions during his meeting with Taiwanese business leaders.

    Lu claimed that both Hu and Wen have learned from her advocacy of using Taiwan's unique "soft power" -- love, democracy, peace and technology -- to break Beijing's diplomatic embargo against Taiwan.

    Unlike former mainland Premier Zhu Rongji, Lu said, Hu and Wen do not use blustery rhetoric to try to intimidate Taiwan voters. "The mainland leaders are now adopting more sophisticated ploys in aiming to buy the hearts of Taiwanese businesspeople and ordinary citizens," she noted.

    Lu reminded Taiwanese businesspeople operating on the mainland to never forget the fact that mainland authorities have given them privileges or courteous treatment only because Taiwan is not under the rule of Beijing. "I believe all Taiwan businesspeople operating on the mainland are loyal to their homeland. I hope they will always have Taiwan in their minds and hearts. They will benefit from the existence of an independent and strong Taiwan," Lu said.

    She also urged relevant government agencies to offer effective assistance to the families of Taiwanese businesspeople alleged to have been detained by mainland authorities on charges of espionage. The government should make every possible effort to help ensure the safety of Taiwan businesspeople operating on the mainland and give them timely and necessary assistance, Lu added.

(By Sofia Wu)

enditem/Li