Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DPP WANTS PEOPLE TO BACK GOV'T PROPOSAL TO BUY U.S. WEAPONRY

ROC Central News Agency

2005-08-20 19:41:55

    Taipei, Aug. 20 (CNA) Several ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials and lawmakers attended an activity held in Taipei Saturday, soliciting more support from the public for the government's proposal to buy arms from the United States.

    The gathering, presided over by DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim, was a warm-up for a mass demonstration organized by the Hand-in-Hand-to-Protect-Taiwan Alliance on Sept. 25 in Taipei, which is aimed at calling for support for the arms procurement to strengthen Taiwan's national defense.

    Ng Chiau-tong, chairman of World United Formosans for Independence, Yao Chia-wen, president of the Examination Yuan, and Huang Shih-cho, a legislator from the Taiwan Solidarity Union, were also present.

    The DPP government plans to purchase eight diesel-electric submarines, six Patriot PAC III anti-missile batteries and a squadron of 12 P-3C anti-submarine aircraft from the U.S. with a special military budget of NT$480 billion.

    Hsiao and Yao agreed that the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and the People First Party's (PFP) failure to allow the bill for the arms procurement package to be considered has misled Americans to believe that Taiwan thinks that the U.S. will bail them out of any military problem, when in fact Taiwan should be strengthening its own defense in case of war.

    Huang called the KMT and the PFP "pro-China parties" because of the way they have damaged Taiwan's national security.

    Facing Beijing's missile threat, Taiwan should maintain a certain level of defense capability -- one month or half a month -- for foreign allies to render help to the island later, Yao stressed.

    The march will begin at 3 p.m. on Sept. 25, starting from the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and proceed through downtown Taipei, ending at Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office.

(By Elisa Kao)

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