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TAIWAN A SOVEREIGN STATE: ROC OFFICIAL

Central News Agency

2005-07-01 11:45:34

    New York, June 30 (CNA) A ranking Republic of China official stationed in Chicago recently sent a letter to the Chicago Sun-Times, stressing that Taiwan is a sovereign state and "does not need China to grant it independence as it has never been a part of the People's Republic of China."

    The letter, written by Thomas T.S. Cheng, director-general of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago, was carried by the newspaper Thursday.

    Cheng was responding to a June 27 commentary in the newspaper on Taiwan's future. The commentary was written by Richard Friedman, president and chairman of the National Strategy Forum.

    In the commentary, Friedman suggested that Taiwan agree to Chinese sovereignty and that China grant the island political and economic independence, as " in this way, both sides could claim victory."

    However, Cheng responded by saying that although he understands Friedman's goodwill in attempting to settle the cross-Taiwan Strait dispute, sovereignty "cannot be transferred or pooled." "The polity of a state will be defended at the cost of all other interests and with every means and resource at its disposal, " the official said in the letter. "Clearly, the sovereignty of the Republic of China, which is Taiwan's designated title, is vested in the 23 million Taiwanese, " he further said, adding: "No matter how populous the PRC is, Taiwan is a sovereign state."

    Pointing out that the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States defines a sovereign state as having a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states, Cheng said that "despite the PRC's protestations to the contrary, it is obvious that the ROC on Taiwan does exist and meets all the requirements of sovereignty and independent statehood."

    He said that the cross-strait dispute stems mostly, if not totally, from Beijing's "absurd insistence" that the island is part of the PRC, stressing that "only when Beijing recognizes the reality will enduring stability and peace settle in the region."

(By Lillian Lin and P.C.Tang)

Enditem/Li