Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

TSU URGES CHINA TO DESTROY MISSILES, HOLD PEACE TALKS WITH TAIWAN

Central News Agency

2005-06-05 18:13:29

    Taipei, June 5 (CNA) China should destroy its missiles aimed at Taiwan and open peace talks with the island as the first step toward a peaceful solution to cross-Taiwan Strait disputes, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) lawmaker Lo Chih-ming said Sunday.

    Lo, a caucus whip of the pro-independence TSU at the Legislative Yuan, made the remarks when answering questions from reporters after U. S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said a day earlier in the Fourth Asian Security Conference held in Singapore that China's military expansion will not only hurt the interests of Taiwan and the United States, but it will also affect China's other trading partners in Asia.

    In recent years, China has been building its military at a two-digit annual growth rate, Lo warned, adding that China is rising as a military power.

    In the face of China's fast military buildup, Taiwan should ask the country to renounce its military threats against Taiwan by fully destroying its hundreds of missiles targeting the island, in an event to be observed by the United Nations or the United States to protect security and prosperity in the strait and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region.

    The arms destruction precedence set up by the United States and the former Soviet Union can serve as a good example for Taiwan and China, he proposed.

    Meanwhile, former President Lee Teng-hui, who is the spiritual leader of the TSU, advocated a new constitution for Taiwan, describing it as an urgent need for Taiwan in its efforts to become a truly independent, free and democratic nation.

    The Republic of China, Taiwan's current formal designation, is a laggard name for the country and the international community, Lee said, claiming that the country must be renamed to effectively reach out to the world. "Taiwan is the promised land from God for the people in Taiwan, and we should treasure this land and make it a nation ruled by justice and peace and full of joy," he said.

    Lee issued the call during an activity held by the Presbyterian Church at the plaza of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in downtown Taipei to mark the 140th anniversary of Christianity in Taiwan.

(By Flor Wang)

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